A Touch of Humanity
by S.N.Sterling
Summary: Even if they were broken beyond repair in their past life, there was always a next time. Cue the modern setting in which Rivaille takes to the streets at the ripe age of twenty-one with the intent to kill, and a seventeen-year-old Eren Jaeger stumbles into the bad side of downtown on the worst day possible. Riren/Yaoi/AU
1. Sina District

**Chapter One: Sina District**

_Cue the typical nice neighborhood setting with pastel colored houses and white picket fences protecting flower gardens from being crushed. Pan left to the all-American family – working father, protective mother, brother and sister, and their Golden Retriever – enjoying lunch under the shady oak tree in the back yard. Zoom in on the smiling, laughing faces and emphasize their fulfillment in life, perfectly content so long as they're together and happy. Slowly filter the scene with a grainy static overlay and watch as the image distorts before fading to black._

_Cut to the man with a knife clenched in his right hand and a deep flesh wound on his left shoulder. Zoom in to see the pain etched across his features as his arms pump at his sides frantically, his feet hitting the ground in a haphazard, hasty rhythm. Jolt the screen and turn sharply to view the gang pursuing him when he slips and crashes against the pavement roughly. Leave the film running long enough to see the men catch up to him. Cut the scene abruptly and fade to black._

* * *

It was Friday afternoon, school just let out for the next week of fall break, and students flooded the courtyard of Legionnaire High, racing for their cars and immediately forgetting about anything educational. The usual buzz of gossip and random chatter filled the crispy cool air as the various cliques and distinguished groups talked about their vacation plans, and the excitement filtering through the crowd was almost tangible.

"Did you _see _Sasha today? I swear that girl was raised by pigs!"

"Yeah, but did you see _Eren_? He stood up for her! What a lame ass!"

"Shh! His sister is _right _there, you idiot! Shut up!"

Frowning distastefully, Eren Jaeger – seventeen years old and a senior at Legionnaire High – adjusted the ear bud in his left ear and glanced at the dark-haired girl beside him. Her eyes were narrowed into a sharp glare towards the gossipers that rushed ahead, pushing each other to walk faster so they wouldn't be caught, but she didn't make a move to stop them much to Eren's relief.

"Don't worry about it, Mikasa," he muttered under his breath, attempting to cover his own undying urge to hit the girls as they fled the scene. He'd gotten better with his anger management lately, but even with the continuous lessons and different sessions of pillow-punching, it was hard not to deck every other person who had to shit to say.

Eren sighed internally when his sister – scratch that; _adopted _sister – turned her gaze elsewhere and adjusted the tasteless grey scarf around her neck. He watched the side of her face for a moment longer before averting his own eyes, his hands stuffing themselves deep into the pockets of his jeans. His fingers brushed the hard plastic case protecting his phone, and the teen bristled when a fleeting memory came to mind.

"Hey, we're supposed to ride with Jean today, right? Armin said we're spending the break over at Sina District." Glancing at Mikasa expectantly, Eren fiddled with the side of the phone case in his pocket, his mind partially tuning out whatever upbeat song was blasting in his ear. The girl beside him looked up thoughtfully before nodding and adjusting the messenger bag on her right shoulder.

"I'm pretty sure we are. Krista wants everyone to meet her cousin who lives downtown while she's here for the fall," Mikasa responded, her shoulders lifting and falling in a neutral shrug. "And Jean wants to show off his new truck." Clicking his tongue slightly, Eren grinned a little and shook pesky brown hair out of his eyes just for the autumn breeze to push it back.

"I wouldn't expect any less from him to be honest," the brunet pointed out, eventually lifting a hand from his pocket to run it through his hair, his fingers threading through the locks loosely and resting on top of his head. He surveyed the area around them thoroughly, spotting a few friends here and there – Sasha and Connie sharing a bag of chips while they walked and watched something on Connie's phone, Marco questioning the new student teacher about their assignment due after break, and Franz and Hannah being all lovey-dovey with each other.

It was a rare sight to see everyone so hyped up for a mere weeklong vacation, but Eren figured it was only natural. School hadn't started long ago at all, and the first break was always the most anticipated.

With a sigh under his breath, Eren let his feet carry him automatically in the direction of the student parking lot, his mind picking out the dusty file from the recesses of his brain with Jean's parking space number. He absentmindedly adjusted the bud in his ear a little more and glanced around again while people buzzed by him, talking loudly about how they weren't even going to bother with the assignments they'd been given over break.

Rolling his eyes slightly, the brunet looked over to Mikasa again just to find that she'd gotten her own phone out and was staring at the dim screen intently. Her fingers moved quickly over the screen, and Eren couldn't help but be curious as to what she was doing.

Carefully, Eren stepped a little closer to his sister and attempted to glance over her shoulder, gasping and coughing when an elbow was jammed right into his ribs. Clutching at his injured side quickly, the brunet stared at Mikasa in surprised shock. "What the hell was that for?"

"You were looking at my phone and invading my privacy," she responded passively though Eren wouldn't have mistaken the cunning smirk pulling at her lips for anything else. He huffed irritably and rubbed at his wound while it throbbed dully – just enough to let him know it was hurt.

"You could've just pushed me away or something," Eren grunted under his breath, one hand moving to fix the book bag slung over his shoulder haphazardly. He heard a little laugh that was more like a chuckle than anything and glanced at Mikasa wearily. "What?"

"Nothing. I was just going to point out the fact I _did _essentiallypush you away." Frowning at the words, Eren rolled his eyes and shoved at the girl's shoulder, quickly sidestepping to avoid a harmless punch in his direction. He grinned and slipped his free arm through the empty strap of his backpack, turning around to walk backwards while facing Mikasa.

"C'mon, Jean and Armin are waiting," he teased, quickly turning on his heel to jog down the rest of the grassy hill to the parking lot, the traction on his shoes preventing him from slipping on the lopsided mound of mud, grass, and rocks. He figured Mikasa was following right behind him and he jumped onto the black asphalt of the lot, making his way over to where Jean was proudly showing off his truck with Armin inspecting all the detailing while Krista sat on the open bed and swung her legs distractedly.

Waving to his friends as he caught up with them and jokingly insulted Jean's truck, Eren ducked the hand about to give him a noogie and held up his hands in defense. He laughed alongside his friends while Jean grunted and said something about regretting his offer to drive everyone before corralling them all inside the vehicle despairingly.

"And we're off to Sina District! Home of the Military Police and king over a thousand years ago!"

"You make it sound so _lame,_ Armin…"

* * *

The back alleys of Sina District's general prostitute and drug dealing hub reeked of age-old garbage and stale sex, and the pavement was damp from the afternoon rain showers. Women in scanty outfits flaunted their endowments on various street corners, and the men higher than cloud nine engaged in drug sales between the whorehouses.

Sirens blared in the distance but never came close enough to the red-light district's boundaries to cause concern, and illegal matters were taken care of without a hitch. It was like this all day every day. There was never a time illicit business rested from dawn until evening. Luckily, only the lowest of the low had to deal with such dangerous areas where no one cared for each other's safety and it was a dog-eat-dog world all the way through.

But even the filthiest of the filthy ran into trouble among their own kind.

"Say, when did you stop being afraid of your own shadow?" Disinterestedly, Rivaille – twenty-one years old and living amongst the worst of Sina District's thugs – stared up at the man standing across from him. His back was plastered against the brick wall of the Stohess whorehouse, the seat of his jeans was soaked from wet concrete, and a smoldering cigarette rested between his fingers. He gave a weak shrug of his shoulders in response and cast a sidelong glance to a group of drug dealers at the other end of the alley.

"I never _was _afraid of my own shadow," Rivaille responded simply, grey eyes briefly returning to the man confronting him. He internally hummed at the frustrated look on the man's face and stretched his legs out in front of himself absentmindedly. An angered sigh met his ears, and Rivaille took a long drag of his cigarette in response. "What?"

"You weren't like this before, Rivaille. So coldhearted, I mean. You used to be human just like the rest of us. I don't even know what you are anymore," the man responded flatly, his tone even and unchanging. Rivaille gave a bemused snort thanks to the words and tilted his head back against the brick behind him, staring up at the fading blue sky.

"So if I'm not human, what am I?" he questioned neutrally, the smoke of his cigarette spilling out the corners of his lips as he spoke.

"A compassionless monster." Humming lowly in the back of his throat while he contemplated the words, Rivaille looked up at the man across from him once more. Stone cold blue eyes were watching him with distrust, and his own grey gaze was vigilant yet bored.

"A monster? Yeah, I guess you could say that." Shrugging indifferently, Rivaille shifted to place one hand firmly on the wall behind him, using the extra leverage to stand before wiping at the damp fabric of his pants. The cigarette butt between his fingers fell to the ground, and he crushed the smoldering end beneath his boot.

"You accept it just like that? What the hell's wrong with you?" Rivaille sighed in irritation under his breath when the question met his ears, his thumbs loosely hooking in the pockets of his jeans.

"So annoying," he breathed, closing his eyes for a brief moment before turning to face the man directly, looking up at his face blankly. "You're not the only guy I've ditched, and you aren't the only one to call me inhuman. Now, if you get that, are we done here? I have places to be." In all honesty, he was silently amused with the flustered look that crossed his interrogator's face and the way the man's jaw worked uselessly. It wasn't rare that someone expected him to say something else – something they could actually fight back against – but what was he supposed to say other than the simple truth?

"Tch. Whatever, you bastard. You better watch your back if you keep doing this to people. We both know that killing another man isn't a crime on these streets." Waving him off apathetically, Rivaille turned on his heel to walk towards the side of the building they were behind, his thoughts wandering to who he was supposed to meet with next.

"That's fine with me. Just don't beg for pity if things come to that," he responded while he walked, glancing over his shoulder at the man as he passed by him. "It's disgusting." Without anything more to say, Rivaille turned ahead again and made his way out of the back alley, his legs working on their own to get him back to the main street.

The sky was fading from that light shade of blue to a dusky grey now as night began to fall, and the serious dealers were beginning to swarm the streets. Prostitutes that spent their mornings and afternoons asleep or prepping themselves were arriving at their usual spots with aphrodisiacs in hand, and the rich men from the other side of Sina District were traversing the streets with cash ready to be spent.

Such lifestyles were, in Rivaille's opinion, absolutely sickening. His own wasn't much better, but he figured that as long as he wasn't selling his body or illegal drugs, he was still considered a little better than most. However, he _did _lie, cheat, and steal to earn a living. But it was far better than selling himself to some random man or woman he'd either never see again or see every night.

"Tch, they're all pathetic brats anyways," he muttered under his breath, grey eyes raking along the form of a scantily clad blonde girl who couldn't be more than nineteen. Hell, she looked sixteen, but Rivaille knew better than to assume that minors allowed themselves on these streets. Almost everyone had ID of some sort – forged or real – and if you were underage, you got treated just as harshly. And that in itself was half the reason minors couldn't handle it.

Breaking out of his distracted state when a faint vibration could be felt against his leg, Rivaille pulled his phone from his pocket reluctantly and flipped the screen open – it was older and stolen, but it worked for him – before bringing it to his ear. Who needed fancy phones anyways when they lived a solitude life on the streets?

"What do you want?" he questioned briskly, glancing around the area carefully. Standing in the middle of the street on the phone wasn't always the best idea, and Rivaille casually made his way towards an abandoned café several people tended to use for shelter when they couldn't keep up with their rent anymore.

"Rivaille! That's how you greet me even though it's been so long? How cruel," the female voice responded from the other end, and Rivaille pursed his lips slightly, humming in response. He heard a sigh and watched the toes of his boots as he walked, occasionally glancing to the side if someone suspicious came into view.

"What do you need, Petra? I thought you said you weren't going to be affiliated with this life anymore, miss student teacher." A sheepish laugh filtered through the speaker, and Rivaille frowned sordidly. "Well? I don't have all day."

"I know, I know. I was just going to tell you that I heard from one of the students in my class that he and his friends will be in Sina this next week. I was going to ask if you could—"

"I'm not going to babysit a bunch of brats, Petra. If that's all you have to say, I'm hanging up."

"No, wait! Wait, Rivaille. I was just wondering if you could make sure they stay away from…_there_. I don't want them getting in any trouble. There's supposed to be a lot of them. Eight or nine, maybe." Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth disinterestedly, Rivaille blankly stared across the street as a frail looking woman openly passed a brown bag to a young man, his hands shaking as he handed her a wad of money. "Rivaille?"

"If they come down here, I'll send them back the way they came. Otherwise I'm not responsible for them. And if they're here but I don't know, I'm not going to do anything about it either," he responded with an agitated sigh, fingers pushing through his black hair exhaustedly. "_And _if they're already in trouble when I find them, too bad." The line went quiet for a minute, and Rivaille knew Petra was thinking over his offer carefully. He heard a soft sigh before the woman's voice filtered through again.

"Alright, that'll work. I know you don't want to get caught up in troublesome affairs. But…but if you _do _see them having a rough time, will you at least think about helping them?" Of course she had to ask that again and almost – _almost _– make Rivaille feel like he'd be held accountable if he didn't. With a reluctant groan, Rivaille leaned back against the wall behind him, placing the heel of one foot back against the dark bricks.

"Maybe. I don't guarantee anything though. Is that all you needed?" Ready to end such a bothersome conversation, Rivaille began to pull his phone from his ear just to be met with a rather interesting comment.

"I'm sorry, Rivaille. About leaving you. I just…I couldn't take it—"

"I know, Petra. I don't blame you. It's a good thing you're safe now so don't worry about anything like that." Rivaille's gaze lifted to the darkening sky, his heel tapping against the wall while his expression filtered to a blank mask as usual. "Maybe I'll get out of this life one day, too."

"You could come work at the school with me, you know. There are a few free spots for assistants and such," Petra responded, and Rivaille could hear a quiet tapping in the background that was probably from a keyboard. He shook his head slightly before closing his eyes and pressing his head back against the bricks.

"Maybe one day. But I really need to go right now. I'm keeping people waiting," he pointed out, glancing around the area carefully. One man on the other side of the street had been watching him for a while now, and the black-haired male shifted slightly. _Tch, disgusting. Don't look at me, bastard._

"Alright then. I'll call you again soon, okay?"

"Please don't." Instantly responding, Rivaille ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "I'll send you a message tomorrow or something. Just don't call. You'll get me in trouble with your horrible timing. Understood?"

"Yes, sir. Ah—sorry, there I go again with the 'sir'. I'll talk to you later, Rivaille." Laughing quietly, Petra sighed into the speaker, and Rivaille suppressed the urge to smile at the little mishap.

"Goodbye, Petra." With a final worn out breath, Rivaille hung up and slipped his phone into his pocket before pushing away from the wall and making his way back to the sidewalk. The streetlamps were beginning to flicker on, and his shadow grew dimmer and dimmer as the sun fell beneath the horizon.

So, he was supposed to look out for a couple of kids, huh? It wasn't unlike Petra to be worried about other peoples' wellbeing – especially younger kids – but did she really need to get him involved too? Hopefully the brats wouldn't get lost and would stay on their side of town, but with his luck, Rivaille was sure at least one of them would end up causing him trouble.

Sighing and leaning his head back to look up at the dim sky, Rivaille paused for a moment to wonder who would be among that group of teenagers. "Probably a bunch of nobodies," he muttered under his breath before shaking his head and continuing on. Surely, _he_ wouldn't be with them. Petra would've said something if that were the case.

_Twenty-one years and there's been no sign of him. He won't just magically show up, idiot._

* * *

The clouds were grayed out, and the sky was rapidly fading into its usual darkness that signaled nightfall. Pristine streetlamps illuminated the street winding through Yalkell's largest neighborhood, and families were ending their late night walks. Dogs restrained behind chain link and picket fences barked and howled at the outdoor cats that filtered through their lawns, and a trio of cars turned into the driveway of the fifth house from the first cul-de-sac.

Shining headlights were reflected in the windows of the house, and engines continued to roar with life. Doors slammed, and Krista was the first one out of Jean's truck and rushing towards the house. Everyone who hadn't fallen asleep during the trip made their way out of the cramped spaces and stretched their limbs, groaning with the effort of movement.

Almost immediately after making sure their muscles wouldn't snap from strain, the group of teenagers – all but Eren who was fast asleep in the truck – made their way to the house to greet Krista's aunt with smiles and hugs. The greetings didn't last long, however, and everyone was soon rushing back to their cars to get their luggage inside to avoid running down the fuel in their tanks even more.

"Eren!" Forehead smacking against the dashboard of Jean's truck when his name was yelled right in his ear, Eren groaned and rubbed at the injury groggily, tired green eyes blinking in confusion. Armin was waving something in front of his face, and the brunet stared at the moving slip of paper in misunderstanding.

"Ah? What's this?" he questioned as he lifted his face from the hard plastic of the dashboard, his fingers fumbling slightly as he took the paper from Armin. His blond friend let out a sigh and pointed at the name displayed in large letters across the top. "Yalkell Museum of History? What's this for?"

"We're going there tomorrow. It's your ticket. Don't lose it," Armin pointed out, giving Eren the most serious face he could muster before sitting back and rubbing at the nape of his own neck. "By the way, everyone's here and working on getting their stuff inside. Krista's aunt gave me the tickets just now so I figured I should wake you up while I was passing them out."

"Oh yeah… Sorry, still trying to wake up," Eren apologized with a yawn, sitting up in his seat and stretching tiredly. His hand fell to undo his seatbelt, and he reached to open the door, accidentally pushing it forward too hard and smacking Jean with the corner as the teen passed by.

"Ow! Shit, Eren! Pay attention," Jean groaned, balancing the luggage that _almost _got knocked out of his hands. Sheepishly, Eren apologized again and pulled the door back so Jean could get by before hopping out once he was out of the way.

"Hey, Eren!" Blinking slightly, the brunet looked over in the direction his name was called from, faltering when a bag suddenly hit his face. "That's yours!" Frowning as the bag fell to his arms, Eren stared at an overly-enthusiastic Connie passing out luggage from the back of Jean's truck.

"Thanks, Connie," he muttered under his breath before shaking his head and throwing the strap of the bag over his shoulder. "Where are we supposed to go anyways?"

"Oh, just go in the front entrance. Krista's in there with Sasha and Marco. Just follow Jean or Armin. And don't let her cousin scare you, by the way. She's colder than your sister," the teen responded with a dramatized frown, his attention soon being caught by Mikasa when she dragged a suitcase from near his feet.

Nodding in response, Eren turned and shut the passenger side door before maneuvering his way between the various cars in the driveway, his eyes catching sight of Armin heading up the main set of stairs outside. Still fairly confused and getting back into the groove of things, Eren reached into his pocket to make sure he had his phone, tugging it out to check the time. _Nine forty…_

That would explain the darkening sky and the reason he still felt half-asleep. The trip to Sina had taken well around four hours, not including the time it took to get everyone's luggage and food for the trip. It wouldn't have been so bad any other day of the year, but with fall break coming, everyone was getting out of their own district. Plus, the districts were serious tourist destinations no matter what time of the year it was, so travel was only that much more difficult.

With a sigh, Eren shook his head and rubbed at his eyes in an attempt to help wake himself up as he ascended the steps, nodding to Krista's aunt once he walked inside. The whole house was fairly large – definitely big enough to accommodate over fourteen people at once – but with everyone dragging luggage inside and claiming rooms, the whole place was a temporary war zone.

"I call the room by the bathroom!" Connie shouted as he bounded inside with two duffle bags under his arms, Mikasa right on his heels.

"Eren, you can choose the room, but we should stick together," the girl pointed out when she passed by her brother, pulling a suitcase behind her. A slight frown tugged on Eren's lips, and he thought over the choices before nodding and heading towards the room he normally chose when they stayed at Krista's aunt's house.

"Marco and Jean are staying in the room beside Connie's, and I'll stay with Krista and Annie. Armin's staying with you two, right?" Sasha questioned as she wormed her way out of the kitchen with a Coke in one hand, a tube of Pringles in the other. Eren gave a nod and pushed open the door of the room he'd be sharing, tossing his bag in carelessly.

"He should be, yeah. Who's Ann—?" Before he could finish the last syllable, Sasha was already opening her mouth to respond.

"Krista's cousin. She's the one that we're all supposed to meet and get used to over fall break. She's in the living room away from everyone else," Sasha pointed out, jerking her thumb in the direction of the living room before heading down the hall to her own room. Eren gave a small nod before turning to step into his room, looking over to Mikasa while she unwrapped the scarf around her neck and folded it carefully.

"It's chaotic here as usual, huh? Do you think things will calm down during the week?" Eren questioned thoughtfully as he collapsed onto his bed and reached for his bag that was ever-so-slowly slipping off the edge. Dragging the duffle closer to himself, Eren moved one hand to the zipper, pulling it down with jerky motions thanks to his position.

"It always does. Once everyone's settled, things will be fine. Just give it a day or two," Mikasa responded with a small shrug before situating herself on her own bed, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her chin in the little space it created. Eren gave a nod of agreement while he dug around in his bag and pulled out the PSP he made sure to pack, searching for the charger afterwards.

"You know, I really hope Armin wasn't serious about that history museum thing. It's not every day we get to come to Sina, and we're supposed to be here for _history_? No thanks," Eren grumbled under his breath, glancing to Mikasa when he heard a little laugh.

"But we _are _in a historical area, Eren. It's only natural," she reminded him, adjusting her position slightly so she could lean forward a bit more.

"You say that as if we don't live in a historical area every other day of our lives, too," the brunet responded, tugging on the cord of his charger impatiently to get it untangled from beneath clothes and other junk in his bag. "We live in the Maria District, too. Which is the most historical of them all in my opinion. And Rose District. But I guess Sina's just the most popular because it's downtown." Shrugging halfheartedly, Eren sat up once he had the charger and grabbed his PSP, reaching over to the electrical outlet above his bedside table.

"Well, you're right about that. Sina's museum is the biggest though. We should go for Armin. You know he likes all the historical things like that," Mikasa pointed out, glancing over at the door when a shriek that could only belong to Sasha rang through the hall.

"Damn it, Connie! Don't put ice down my shirt, you asshole!"

Forcing back laughter, Eren looked over at the door as he plugged his charger into the wall just to see a laughing Connie sprinting down the hall. "Things will get quiet around here, huh?" he questioned with a short laugh, shaking his head and sitting back once his PSP was set up.

"Just give it time," Mikasa responded with a little smile, hugging her legs closer to herself. Eren nodded in agreement with the words and leaned back on his hands while he gazed around the room. Nothing had changed in the months they'd been gone really. One bed rested against the left wall, one against the right, and another against the same wall as the door. The wallpaper was the same shade of sea green it had been since the house was built, and the white trim was still peeling and dusty.

The two dressers were as small as ever, and the closet was probably still stuffed with boxes from Krista's aunt's college days. It was nostalgic any time they visited even if they happened to come over at least two or three times a year, and Eren had to admit that it was his favorite place away from home.

Breaking away from his thoughts when a knock was rapped against their door, Eren glanced over to his right and noticed an unfamiliar blonde girl standing in the doorway. Her hair was pulled back in a sloppy little bun, and icy blue eyes traveled between Eren and Mikasa.

"Dinner will be ready in half an hour. Don't be late to the table or you'll be kicked out," she stated firmly before turning on her heel and heading to the next door. Eren stared in her direction silently for a minute before shrugging and pushing himself up onto his feet.

"I'm guessing that's Annie?" Mikasa gave a nod in response to his words and moved to stand up as well, adjusting the bottom of her shirt in the process. "She seems nice," Eren pointed out jokingly, chuckling a little to himself and stretching his arms above his head. "Well, whatever. I'm gonna find Armin and ask about that museum thing."

"I'll go with you," Mikasa stated as she fell in step behind Eren, pulling the door shut behind her and following behind the brunet. He gave a nod to acknowledge her words and slid his hands into his pockets, briefly glancing down the hall where Annie was informing Marco about dinner.

His fingers distractedly toyed with the lint in his pockets, and he set to work finding Armin with Mikasa, hoping to get out of his history lesson tomorrow. The last thing he wanted to do during his vacation was get stuck learning about the things he never heard the end of. Nasty things called titans that ate humans, soldiers that could fly, and unnamed heroes were all things he was tired of by this point. The walls that existed over a thousand years ago weren't the same anymore after going through renovation after renovation to match the new age anyways, and he didn't see the point in learning about ancestors whose names weren't even recorded in history.

But never once had he stopped to think about _why _their names weren't recorded. Even the identity of humanity's strongest soldier was supposedly lost in the ashes of history, never to be remembered. Some people went as far as to say the stories were a hoax – something to attract tourists to the area for more money.

"Eren!" Shaking away his thoughts when Armin's voice filtered into his mind, Eren turned around to see the small blond catching up to him. Mikasa glanced over her shoulder before turning as well, giving a little wave of greeting.

"Oh there you are. Where were you?" Eren asked on reflex, his hands pushing themselves deeper into his pockets. Armin nodded in the direction of the kitchen before holding up the same sheet of paper he'd given Eren earlier.

"I was talking to Krista's aunt. Apparently that museum she wants to take us to uncovered all this cool evidence about some of the names of the soldiers who lived back when the titans were around." Raising a brow slightly, Eren cocked his head to the side in mild interest.

"Yeah? Whose names did they find?" he questioned curiously, glancing at Mikasa absentmindedly. Her focus was just as intent as his, and Armin's lips split in a crooked little smile.

"The only one I could get out of Krista's aunt was humanity's strongest soldier's name. Rivaille. Lance Corporal Rivaille!"

Farther down the hall, Annie paused when a familiar name met her ears, her gaze glancing in the direction of the three friends sharing their opinions on the name and Eren's skepticism about it being real. Blue eyes narrowed slightly, and she turned away from the group silently.

"_Rivaille…what are you hiding this time?_"


	2. Taken for Granted

_The skies were dark with dread, and the clouds hung low with a menacing obscurity. Broken lampposts flickered dully, sending their washed out light splattering across the streets, and the air was icy enough to burn. The sound of rushed footsteps echoed between the shady buildings lining either side of the street, and rough, breathless pants broke through the atmosphere._

_Eyes darkened with a thirst for bloody revenge met terrified amber, instantly reading over the pain reflected in those once-pure eyes. The harsh click of a tongue sounded between pants, and the direction of shoe soles smashing against crumbling asphalt veered to the right._

_Of the two figures racing to the alley between brothels, the woman clutched at her left arm tightly, warm blood covering her fingers and staining the white fabric of her shirt. The gash her hand was desperately covering resonated with a burning sting, and the pain was etched straight across her features. She let herself be led into the alley and roughly shoved against the wall, her back hitting the surface harshly. The man beside her pressed up against the bricks as much as he could to hide his form from easy view, his right arm outstretched in front of her to keep her back._

"_Rivaille…" the woman breathed, her fingers digging into the wound on her arm painfully. Her voice was laced with the pain from her injury, and she bit at her lip to hold back a sob that attempted to fall from her lips. She was given a stern look in response, and the eyes staring straight into her own were dark and bloodthirsty. _

"_Shut up. Don't use more energy than you have to," he snapped back quickly, grey eyes flickering to the bloody hand on the girl's shoulder. He stared at it for a short moment before jerking his head away and listening for the men pursuing them. The woman only gave a short nod and tried to focus on controlling her breathing, willing away the pain in her arm._

_Long minutes of silence passed, and once he deemed it was safe, Rivaille grabbed his partner's uninjured arm and tugged her farther into the alley. He instructed her to move her hand, her knuckles white from the death grip she had on her arm._

"_I'm sorry, Rivaille… I—I wasn't paying attention…" she muttered, flinching when the sound of fabric ripping resonated in the silence of the alleyway. She didn't receive a response aside from her arm being tugged closer to Rivaille while he wrapped the fabric around her wound tightly. Pained gasps threatened to slip between her lips, but she held them back as best as she could, wincing at the tightness of the makeshift bandage._

"_It's not your fault, Petra," Rivaille grunted as he tied the fabric in a tight knot to keep it in place. "I'll kill them all later. Such filthy beings don't deserve to have this sort of satisfaction," he mumbled under his breath, and Petra couldn't help but to bite at her lip guiltily._

"_Don't… Don't do anything like that, Rivaille." Whispering softly, Petra raised her right hand soaked in her own sticky blood and wiggled her fingers slightly. A small smile tugged her lips, and she let out a quiet sigh. "I… I can't keep living this sort of life. You killing the people who did this will only make things worse."_

"_Petra—"_

"_You have a short temper, Rivaille. I know." Petra let out a quiet breath, her voice wavering with the effort of staying calm and hiding her pain. "This…is a bad time to say it, but I'm leaving." She could feel the disbelieving stare burning against the side of her face, and the woman glanced away guiltily. "I got a job…somewhere else."_

"_You need to go to the hospital," Rivaille interrupted, purposely avoiding Petra's comment about leaving. In response, she shook her head and looked back at the man beside her quietly._

"_I'm fine, don't worry. I've had worse," she pointed out remorsefully, internally cringing at the memories that surfaced. "I need to tell you this first because I know you're going to disappear if I don't." Rivaille's expression remained indifferent at the comment, but Petra knew he was internally frowning at her lack of trust. "I know I left you before because I didn't think propetly. And I'm sorry, but I have to do that again… I can't handle it, Rivaille. In another life, it was another story. But this is now – not a thousand years ago, no matter what you say."_

_Slowly, Rivaille gave a nod to her words and sighed under his breath. "Alright. I understand. You've done all you need to, Petra." It was painful to acknowledge the fact his one partner that didn't give him weird looks for mentioning his memories from a thousand years ago was leaving, but he knew better than to argue. He'd dragged her through enough anyways. With a shake of his head, Rivaille cleared his thoughts before nodding to Petra's arm briefly. "You still need to go to the hospital."_

_A surprisingly lighthearted laugh left Petra's lips, and she gave a small nod of agreement._

"_Yes, sir."_

* * *

Sighing heavily under his breath, Rivaille's gaze ripped itself away from the darkening sky overhead and instead focused on the glint of metal across the street. His blank, disinterested expression hid the thoughts running through his head, and he absently crossed his ankles over each other. A cigarette threatened to slip from between the fingers of his right hand that was limp at his side, but he didn't bother to stop it before it fell to the ground with a soft sizzle.

"It's been six months since then, huh? And there's still no sign of him on your side of the city either," Rivaille murmured, closing his eyes and tilting his head back against the rotting wood he was leaning against. His cigarette slowly disintegrated into ashes on the ground, and he had just enough motivation to crush the smoldering end with the heel of his boot.

With a weary shake of his head, Rivaille pushed himself away from the decaying wall and slid his hands into the deep pockets of his jeans. Two days had passed since Petra last called him with that stupid babysitting request, and he was already back to his usual routine – not that he'd ever really done anything different anyways. Wander around the streets aimlessly during the morning, scout out people who needed information on gangs or had information to sell during the day, and pickpocket the rich men who showed up for prostitutes during the night – it was always the same.

Occasionally, Rivaille wondered what it would be like to have a normal life with a regular family and ordinary friends. The thoughts were fruitless, however, because he knew it wouldn't happen. Once you had the blood of hundreds on your hands, there was no going back. Petra had gotten lucky in the sense that unlike him, she never killed someone for the sake of killing them.

Running through his thoughts rapidly, Rivaille paused for a second and dug the heel of his boot into the ground distractedly. If he took the time to think about it, he couldn't recall a time that Petra ever killed _anyone_. A slight frown pulled at his lips, and the man clicked his tongue in distaste.

"Of course she didn't kill anyone. I dragged her into this life when she didn't want it," he grumbled under his breath, shaking his head ruefully. He waited for a moment to let the thoughts pass before moving his feet again and traversing the street he saw every day with a vacant expression. His fingers fiddled with the knife in his right pocket while he walked, and he cast a careful glance in the direction of a nervous teenager twiddling his thumbs near the side exit of some strip club. A thoughtful brow rose in response to the sight, but Rivaille decided not to question it and kept on his way.

Night was falling and it would be dark soon, so he assumed it'd be best to frequent his usual spot where the richest of the rich showed their faces. He pulled the straightest facade he could and made his way along the route he unfortunately knew by heart, ignoring the prying eyes that bore into his figure while he walked. One hand remained on his knife at all times, and Rivaille noted the unusual number of younger people wandering the streets with fake expressions of bravery and self-confidence. _Fucking brats._

By time he stepped foot on the richer east side of the Stohess region, Rivaille was yawning and running his fingers through his hair exhaustedly. The walk itself wasn't that bad – roughly two or three miles – but his mind hadn't slowed down once, and he was already getting a headache from it all. His thoughts were _never _this jumbled. He almost – _almost _– wanted to think it was some sort of bad omen, but that would just be stupid.

"Hey, isn't that Rivaille…? What's _he_ doing here?"

"Don't talk so loud, you dumbass! He'll kill us!"

"You're both stupid. He's going to kill you anyways."

Rivaille could already feel his right eye twitching in annoyance, but he simply shrugged the comments off for now. If he was known for anything, it was always his undying bloodlust that tended to show up more times than he liked. He tried to think it was because of how much killing he did in his previous life, but even then, it wasn't like he'd been killing _humans. _

With a deep sigh, Rivaille shoved yet another irritating thought from his mind and focused on not letting his unstable state show on his face. His feet carried him towards his usual post between the most popular whorehouses in all of east Stohess, and he dug around in his back pocket for his dwindling pack of cigarettes.

Placing one of the cancerous sticks between his lips, Rivaille fished his lighter from his other pocket and lit the end of his cigarette. He breathed in deeply, relishing in the little lightheaded feeling that passed through him as he leaned back against the streetlamp between the two brothels. Smoke filtered out between his lips, and he absentmindedly toyed with the flame of his lighter, repeatedly sparking and ending the flame.

A couple minutes of inactivity passed, and just as his cigarette was almost done burning, Rivaille reached into his pocket for his cell phone to check the time. _Nine-twenty. _He gave a small nod of understanding to himself and slipped his phone back in his pocket with a sigh. _Forty minutes until the big shots show up._

"Well, look who it is, boys." Tensing when a vaguely familiar voice broke his thoughts, Rivaille looked up and bit his tongue harshly before he could let his body move on instinct. He took a deep breath and crushed the remaining bit of his cigarette automatically, carelessly burning his palm and using every ounce of self-control to remain calm and straight-faced.

"_You_…" Rivaille breathed out carefully, turning his face away in disgust and scowling when the man who addressed him leaned close enough to breath against his jaw and a burly arm pressed against the metal above his head. "Get lost, bastard."

"Yeah. _Me. _And I'd rather not. After all, I have something to settle with you, you little bitch."

* * *

Eren sighed internally while his aching feet dragged themselves across the pavement behind the group of five ahead of him. Polished, bright lampposts were flickering to life along the streets of Hermiha's shopping district as night fell, and the sidewalks were still as crowded as ever. It was already nine-thirty, and Krista showed no signs of being ready to turn in for the night despite everyone's constant groaning.

"At least carry your own bags if you're gonna make us keep going," Jean complained from the head of the group, his arms sagging at his sides thanks to the extra weight of shopping bags digging into his flesh. Connie offered to help carry a bit of the load, and his balance deteriorated as Jean shoved the whole bundle into his arms.

Krista watched the display with a little laugh and shook her head before pausing to take a few bags from Connie, the thin ropey handles digging into her fingers. "You should've said something earlier, Jean! I would've taken them," she pointed out with a smile, shooting a playful glance at the teen as he rubbed at the temporary welts on his arms.

From the back of the group, Eren rolled his eyes and let a little grin tug at the corners of his lips, one hand moving to adjust the bud slipping out of his right ear. He shifted the various bags hanging from his other arm, and cast a sideways glance to the dark-haired girl on his left. She was pulling the fabric of her scarf up over her nose, and Eren raised a brow curiously.

"Are you cold or something?" he questioned, pointing at Mikasa's scarf for a moment. His sister shook her head in response and gave a short, "Not really," before letting her hand fall to her side again. Eren watched her for a second before shrugging and looking away. Armin was on his left, staring at the screen of his phone while he mapped out the area they were in, and Connie and Sasha were in the middle of the group, sharing a large pretzel. Marco, Jean, and Krista were leading the group along the lit sidewalks, and Annie was…nowhere to be seen.

Blinking slightly, Eren looked over his shoulder when he realized he didn't see the blonde ahead of him, and green eyes narrowed minutely when he didn't see her behind him either. She had been there just a while ago when they left the last souvenir shop, but now she was nowhere in sight. With a small frown, Eren turned towards his sister again and kept his voice low. "Hey, where's Annie?"

Mikasa glanced behind them for a moment before scanning the remaining members of their party, eventually giving a small shrug in response. "I don't know… Wasn't she here just a minute ago?"

"That's what I thought, too," Eren grumbled under his breath, his eyes searching the crowd as best as he could with the flood of people walking in both directions. He caught a glimpse of a blonde bun bobbing with each step off to the side of the crowd, and he muttered a quick, "I'll be right back," to Mikasa before blending into the horde of people and making his way to the left.

He gripped the bags in his hands tightly and weaved his way through the mass of people carefully, shoving back whenever someone tried to push him out of their way. Why the hell were there so many people still on the streets this late anyways? When the hell were shops even supposed to close here? Come to think of it, Hermiha _did _have the most popular shopping district in all of Sina. It wouldn't have been surprising if the stores stayed open twenty-four-seven.

Groaning quietly under his breath, Eren tried to keep his eyes locked onto the flash of pale blonde hair he'd seen earlier. It was difficult, and he nearly lost track of where he was going at least five times, but he finally managed to escape the throng of people when the bun disappeared in an alley between two buildings. Shoving himself into the passageway, Eren took a moment to get his bearings straight before heading down the tight space.

"Annie?" he called out, green eyes focusing intently on the darkened form of the person ahead of him. He didn't hear a response, but suddenly, the other person broke into a run, and he faltered for a moment before picking up his own pace. "Annie!" Eren shouted, keeping to his assumption that this person was indeed their missing group member. The bags hanging from his arms bit into his skin harshly, though he didn't pay them much mind and instead focused on catching up.

His legs and feet ached from days of nonstop walking at this point, the soles of his feet throbbing dully and his legs burning with effort, but he forced himself to keep going even after he was out of the alley and on another street. He didn't have to push and shove to get on the sidewalk this time, however, and Eren found himself distantly wondering how there could be such a difference in population between the two neighboring areas. He figured that he probably just passed into another region of Hermiha, but even then, the difference shouldn't have been _this _surprising.

Grumbling about Krista's stupid cousin causing him trouble, Eren absentmindedly adjusted the shopping bags he was carrying and looked around the area carefully. He'd lost track of who he assumed to be Annie a moment ago when he had to take a minute to keep himself from toppling to the ground thanks to everything he was holding, and now he was left wandering around aimlessly.

"Damn it," Eren breathed quietly, lifting a hand to run it through his hair. He hadn't paid attention to the way he came, and now he didn't know which way to keep going either. _Perfect. Absolutely perfect, _he thought bitterly, gazing around the near-empty street. He figured that finding Annie was still his best bet at this point, and he decided to walk in the direction he'd last seen the figure moving towards.

"Annie? Hey! Annie! If you're out here, I could really use a hand!" he called out, his voice echoing off of the deteriorating buildings nearby. There wasn't much of a verbal response, but Eren stopped walking when he heard movement to his right. Fast footsteps pounded against the crumbling asphalt in a haphazard rhythm, and he couldn't help but be reminded of the way 'Annie' had suddenly started running from him. "Hey—Annie? Come on, the others probably know we're gone by—"

Freezing when the loud _bang _of gunshots met his ears, Eren's feet halted on the concrete, and his words were lost in his throat. He'd heard gunshots before, but it had always been from a distance, and this time, the resounding echo of the bullets being fired sounded closer than ever. With a quick decision, Eren backed up slowly, about to turn on his heel to go back the way he came when a man suddenly burst out of the alley across from him.

Green eyes widened in surprise, and Eren found himself uselessly stuck in place again even though he _knew _he needed to _get the fuck away_. Instead of moving, however, he watched the man with wide eyes, tuning in on the dark red blood staining pale skin when he passed under a streetlight. Gripping the bags in his hands tightly, Eren lifted a foot to take a step back, attempting to turn around in the process.

"Stop running, you fucking bastard!" Flinching when an angered voice met his ears, Eren's gaze shot to the three figures slamming their way out of the alley the other man had come from. He caught the reflecting glint of a gun in the light provided by the streetlamp, and everything suddenly clicked. The gunshots he heard only seconds ago were from that gun, and the man he just saw had been grazed by a bullet.

Realization striking him like a punch in the gut, Eren quickly forced his body to work and turned on his heel rapidly, throwing himself in the direction he'd come from. He didn't get far, however, before his feet were suddenly knocked out from beneath him, and the bags he'd been carrying went flying. Plastic scraped against the asphalt roughly, and Eren didn't even have the time to realize he didn't hit the ground before his mind was catching on to the cold bite of metal against his neck.

"Don't move. I won't hurt you unless I have to." The words were harshly whispered in his ear, and Eren gave a faint nod followed by a thick swallow. The scent of fresh blood met his nose, and he was acutely aware of the cold fingers gripping his hair firmly. His back was pressed against a firm chest, and his legs were bent in a painfully awkward angle, but he was more focused on the knife cutting into his throat to notice.

Green eyes locked onto the three men he'd seen only seconds before he tried to run, their burly forms coming into light when they stepped under the lamp across from him. He noticed the amused expressions each of them wore and the silvery guns each one held in their right hand, and he carefully moved one hand to the ground to help keep his balance.

"Oh well look at this. Even when he's bleeding and defeated, he doesn't know when to start playing fair," one of the men drawled, his dark eyes flickering with amusement. He spun his gun around his index finger before gripping it tightly and pointing it directly at Eren and the man behind him, causing the brunet to tense and attempt to lean back a little more. The knife against his neck bit into his skin with a harsh sting in response, and Eren could already feel the first few beads of blood welling up around the wound.

"If you plan to kill me, you have to kill the kid, too." _I honestly don't think he has a problem with that… _Bitter thoughts passed through Eren's mind, and he spared a glance back at the man behind him. He couldn't quite see the side of his face, but he spotted a glimpse of black hair before returning his gaze to the man holding him at gunpoint.

"Tch. You really think I have a problem killing some brat?" _Shit, I knew it! _Internally forcing himself _not _to panic, Eren let out a short little laugh, drawing the attention of all four men around him.

"Ah, hey now— I was just looking for my friend's cousin. Why am I suddenly getting dragged into this?" he questioned nonchalantly, trying to hide the slight terror in his voice. If he could just keep them distracted, he was sure he could break the man's hold on him and get away before the first bullet flew. He felt the man behind him tense, the fingers in his hair gripping tighter and the knife digging into his throat drawing more blood.

"Shut up, brat," the voice behind him hissed directly in his ear, warm breath tickling the shell with a sense of urgency.

"No, the kid's right. Why _is _he suddenly in this, huh? You looking to kill even _more_ people, Rivaille? That's just like you." Green eyes blinked in slight surprise when the other man spoke up again, his mind focusing on something other than the need to get away. _Rivaille? Where've I heard that name before? _Breaking out of his thoughts when the _tsk _of a tongue clicking met his ears, Eren tried to glance back again carefully.

"Maybe I am." _Oh this is great. _

"H-hey! Wait! I'm serious, I'm only seventeen! Damn it, I don't want to die yet when I didn't do anything to any of you!" Eren protested, ignoring the growing pain resonating from the wound on his neck as the metal pressed deeper with each word.

"I said shut up," the man behind him repeated with a threatening growl, his fingers in Eren's hair tightening and pulling back on his head harshly. Gasping slightly and forced to look up at the dark sky, Eren could feel the hot blood sliding down his throat.

"Come on, Rivaille. It's us you have to settle things with – not this kid. Stop being a coward and let him go," the other man barked out, laughing under his breath carelessly to provoke the man holding Eren captive. The brunet felt the knife against his neck tremble slightly before it pressed into his skin firmly again, the blade becoming stained with his blood.

An unnerving silence followed the other man's outburst, and Eren fidgeted uncomfortably as sweat rolled down along the side of his face. He heard the quiet clink of metal against metal, and his eyes darted over to the man flanking the one in front of him mere milliseconds before he was being abruptly thrown against the ground and a resounding gunshot filled the tense air. Catching himself on his hands, Eren felt the rough asphalt dig into his palms, and he quickly looked over his shoulder to see the man that had been holding him pushing himself back up onto his feet from his position on the ground.

An unrestrained fury burned in grey eyes, and he could finally catch a glimpse of the man's appearance in the faded light from the streetlamp. The edge of the knife in his right hand was stained with Eren's blood, and the brunet lifted a hand to his neck to feel for the wound, wincing slightly when his fingers pressed into the shallow cut.

"Someone shoot him already!" Eren tensed when the voice met his ears, and he looked up in time to see the other men raise their weapons, aiming them towards the man who…_technically_ just saved his life. Green eyes widening in surprised realization, Eren forced himself up onto his feet and was about to lurch forward towards the man nearest him before a blur cut him off halfway. A gunshot was fired haphazardly into the atmosphere as the man collapsed to the ground harshly, his left side smashing against the asphalt.

On top of him was a female with a threatening glare, the heel of her tennis shoe digging into his throat. Her hands hung limply at her sides, and she looked to the other two men coldly. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that," she stated flatly, her foot raising just to come crashing down against the man's neck, snapping it with ease. Eren barely had time to catch the glimpse of knotted blonde hair before she was moving again and landing a fierce kick to the second man's gut, her elbow coming down on the back of his neck in a way that made Eren cringe.

The group's leader had an expression of horror as he watched his teammates fall at the hands of a _girl_, and Eren's eyes darted to the side to notice the movement behind the man. A pained gasp shot through the air and was quickly followed by a tormented scream when a knife plunged deep into his back and ripped up along his spinal cord. Eren watched with horrified eyes as the man collapsed to the ground with a heavy _thud_, his blood spilling out along the way. The knife that had been against his own neck earlier was soaked with blood that wasn't his own, and he was frozen in place yet again.

The three men who had almost killed him were on the ground, unconscious and lifeless, and the two people still standing were exchanging looks with each other. Then it fucking hit him.

"Annie?" Voice laced with disbelief and uncertainty, Eren gazed at the back of the shorter girl across from him, her blonde hair held in a tight bun. She glanced at him coldly, icy blue eyes meeting his for a short second, before she kicked at the limp body beneath her feet and made her way to the injured man.

"Are you okay, Rivaille?" The man gave a curt nod in response, muttering something about it just being a little scratch. His grey eyes were focused on Eren, and the brunet glanced around quickly to avoid meeting his gaze. Annie's own focus turned to him after a moment, and he took a step back nervously.

"Ah, hey, there you are— I was looking for you. Everyone's probably worried, y'know. And uh, what the _hell _just happened here? You didn't actually…_kill them _did you?" Eren questioned halfheartedly, his fingers moving to the wound on his neck reflexively. Annie glanced at the man beside her before shrugging and letting out a bored sigh.

"I did. They're dead." Letting out a short, bitter laugh at the words, Eren nodded and ran a hand through his hair wearily. _Right. Okay. She killed two guys. Nothing to be worried about._

"Eren?" Blinking slightly when the other person's voice met his ears, the brunet looked up and stared at him incredulously. Green eyes narrowed suspiciously before relaxing again, and Eren swallowed thickly.

"Sorry, but how do you know my name?"

"You know him, Rivaille?"

"Of course I know him. He's Eren… Eren Jaeger. Right?"

Giving a slow nod, Eren watched the man across from him carefully. Well _this _was a bit awkward. Had they met before or something? He couldn't remember this man's face, but he knew he heard his name before. And he heard it just recently, too. Wracking his memory uselessly, Eren shook his head and lifted the collar of his shirt to press it against his wound, hoping to stop the bleeding.

"Yeah, I'm Eren. But who are…_you_?"


	3. Liars

_The way Eren writhed beneath him, clung to his back desperately, moaned his name with that sinful tongue of his, arched off the mattress with pleasured cries – it all drove him completely mad. The pure heat trapped between their bodies as they moved together filled his mind with a lusty haze while his fingers dug into soft, scarred flesh, and Rivaille was sure that he was a completely different person whenever he was connected to Eren like this. The boy's expressions were suddenly less annoying than usual, and the way he repeated Rivaille's name in a heated mantra was an intense turn-on rather than a reason to tell him to shut up._

_Hot-breathed pants were trapped between open mouths as Rivaille moved inside the boy beneath him, eliciting grunts and groans from the back of his own throat and pleasured moans from Eren's lips. He knew they were both nearing that blissful edge of release they'd grown to know well, and his body automatically shifted to move against Eren in a way that made the brunet scream. Blunt nails dug into his back, leaving obvious scars that Rivaille found himself not caring about, and Eren arched against up against his chest, their bodies pressing together perfectly._

_They pushed themselves over the edge of heavenly ecstasy only seconds later, and all too soon, the intense heat was fading, leaving two gasping, panting lovers in its wake. Eren gripped Rivaille tightly, and their chests heaved with the effort of breathing. Rivaille was about to complain – about to order Eren to let go of him so that filling his lungs with oxygen wasn't harder than it already was, but he was stopped by a single whispered phrase as soon as his lips parted._

"_C-Corporal Rivaille…I love you."_

* * *

The breeze around them grew cold, and an ill silence hung in the air above their heads. Rivaille's gaze stared directly at Eren, although his eyes were unseeing, and his mind reeled over memories he knew he possessed but hadn't experienced in his own life. He wanted to know why _that _memory had shown up the instant he recognized Eren, but he was left grappling for an answer that wasn't there. _The first time he said, "I love you," to me. No, that's wrong. The kid in front me has never told me he loves me. He doesn't even know who I am._

Mentally shaking away the thoughts that plagued the forefront of his mind, Rivaille diverted his own attention by flicking his knife closed despite the bloodied blade and shoved it back into his pocket. He kept his expression stoic even when Annie's prying eyes turned to him along with Eren's, and he sighed under his breath.

"We met a long time ago," Rivaille began easily, his focus never leaving the vibrant green hues watching him. "I'm just good at remembering faces and names. It's not surprising you don't remember me. It happens to people all the time." With a shrug that proved how he had no intention of elaborating further, Rivaille raised a hand to the wound on his arm, his fingers becoming stained with his own warm blood.

Eren gave a slow nod in response, his expression reflecting how the gears of his mind were working to process the new information. "Ah,right. Sorry, I guess I forgot. My memory isn't really the best," the brunet apologized, laughing slightly under his breath and wincing at the stinging pain that shot through his throat. Rivaille muttered an almost incoherent, "No shit," at his words before turning away and examining the wound on his arm.

Personally, he didn't consider it to be much more than a little flesh wound – he'd experienced _much _worse in his time – but he knew better than to simply leave it open for infection. Grey eyes left the bloody mess of his arm to shoot back towards Eren momentarily, quickly inspecting the brunet's own injuries. With an irritated click of his tongue, Rivaille nodded towards Annie curtly before turning on his heel and walking towards the other side of the street.

"Call Hanji. Tell her to meet us at the usual place. As much as I'd hate to see her right now, Eren needs to get that cut checked," he stated flatly as he walked, already knowing that the blonde was falling into step behind him. She made a simple sound of acknowledgement before pausing when footsteps weren't following behind her, turning to face a distrusting Eren.

"What are you waiting for? Come on." The brunet shook his head in response, and blue eyes narrowed as Rivaille took a second to turn around as well.

"We're just going to leave these guys here?" Eren questioned unsurely, green eyes darting between the limp, lifeless bodies on the ground. Annie shrugged her shoulders neutrally before nodding curtly and turning around again.

"What else are we going to do? They're dead," she deadpanned, nodding towards Rivaille to keep going. "It's only polite to leave the scraps behind for other starving dogs," the blonde added in, shooting a deathly cold glance in Eren's direction. If it hadn't been for the breeze tickling his back beneath his shirt, the brunet would've assumed the stare alone caused the shudder that wracked through his body.

"Leave them behind for other starving dogs? What the hell is that supposed to mean? We can't just let them rot there!" the brunet protested, taking another glance at the lifeless eyes that stared up at him. A form of anger he didn't quite recognize boiled in the back of his mind despite his revulsion with the whole situation, and Annie simply disregarded Eren's presence behind her as she reached into her pocket for her phone.

"There are some crazy people in the world, Eren. They don't care what they eat as long as they do," Rivaille interjected, tone deceivingly calm and collected. It took a second, but once Eren realized what they were talking about, he fought back the immediate urge to throw up the dinner he'd eaten just before landing in this mess.

"You mean…_cannibals_? People like that live in Sina? What the hell—I've never heard anything like that on the news though! You can't be serious!" With a shudder of disgusted anger, Eren shot another look over his shoulder, his expression contorted with a hint of horror. _Those people will be eaten… We shouldn't let that happen! _

"The world's a fucked up place. You hear all about Yalkell and Hermiha, right? You don't hear about Stohess. The west and the south are more important than the east. It makes sense, right? This is the bad side of town," Rivaille explained disinterestedly, his gaze absently travelling up to stare at the dark sky. "I'm guessing that you came from Hermiha since you showed up right on the border."

"Even if this is a criminal region, we can't just let the people you _killed_ get eaten! That's sick and wrong!" the brunet protested again, his mind stuck on the idea of leaving human beings behind to be picked apart by their own species and who knows what else.

"Then what do you suggest we do, Jaeger?" Rivaille bit out, catching Eren off guard when he was referred to by his last name. A bored gaze was aimed at him now, and the brunet fumbled with creating a sensible response only to be interrupted by Rivaille's voice. "Leaving them behind is no different than when someone accidentally runs over an animal on the road and leaves it for the vultures. They're already dead. It doesn't matter what happens to them now."

"But they probably have families that should know!" Eren retorted immediately, his voice becoming trapped in his throat afterwards when Rivaille's eyes flickered with an emotion the brunet couldn't quite place.

"And roadkill doesn't have families that should know?" Opening his mouth to say something in response, Eren found himself unable to and averted his gaze instead, trying to stamp out his rising irritation with the whole situation while Rivaille watched him closely. "We're all just filthy animals in the end. Are you done now? We have places to be."

"Rivaille. Hanji's already waiting for us," Annie interrupted, effectively ending the conversation in its tracks. "She said she stopped by your place to pick up a spare key to…" Trailing off, the blonde glanced back towards Eren before clearing her throat and continuing. "To you know where. Apparently you have a guest waiting there, too," the blonde reported, her phone flipping closed and entering the vicinity of her pocket again.

Eren watched as some sort of mental communication passed between Annie and Rivaille, his gut feeling of distrust and annoyance rising. Why was he even following these people? He had no idea who Rivaille was, and Annie was just a girl who told everyone when dinner was ready. Oh, and they were both coldblooded killers who left their victims to be eaten apparently. How was a murderer related to Krista anyways? He'd have to ask if they were actually blood relatives later or not.

With a sigh, Eren ran his fingers through his hair, casting a remorseful glance over his shoulder. He wondered if Mikasa was going bloodhound-mode to find him yet and what everyone thought of his and Annie's sudden disappearance. Could he tell them that she killed two people without any remorse? No, they'd probably never believe him. It would be his word against Annie's, and Krista would be devastated at the idea.

"Say, Eren." Breaking away from his thoughts when Rivaille's voice infiltrated his ears, Eren looked towards the man and tried to wipe the regret of leaving those people behind from his own features. Deceptively blank grey eyes were staring straight into his own green irises, and the brunet already had a sinking feeling he wouldn't like whatever he was about to say. "Do you know of anyone named Petra? Petra Ral?" Eren blinked at the question, his literature teacher's assistant for the next couple of months coming to mind first.

"Ms. Ral? She's the student teacher for my lit class. Wait—how do you know her?" _She's associated with thugs like this? No, that can't be right. _The way Rivaille's eyes narrowed considerably made Eren hold his hands up in defense immediately, not favoring the idea of being killed by the man's glare. "Should I not have said that or some—"

"I see. So that's why." Muttering under his breath, Rivaille shook his head and turned away from Eren again, leaving both the brunet and the blonde following him confused and suspicious. Annie did a fair job at hiding her curiosity, but Eren could tell that she had no idea what was going on either when she didn't make a remark to accentuate Rivaille's words.

"Um, can I ask how you know Ms. Ral?" Eren questioned again, already tiptoeing in dangerous waters. It was obvious that Rivaille wasn't satisfied when the brunet told him what he knew of the young teacher, and yet here he was, asking a man perfectly capable of his murder for more information.

Rivaille stayed silent for a moment or two after Eren asked his question, and the man gave a neutral shrug of his shoulders while he thought. "Don't piss yourself. She's just an acquaintance I used to work with. She's nothing to be scared of," Rivaille vaguely explained, leading the group of three through an alley Eren hadn't even noticed when he first ended up in Stohess.

"Although," Rivaille began again, catching Eren's attention from where he was examining some form of graffiti on the walls they were passing. "She's a liar. And a good one, at that."

* * *

Arriving at an average-looking apartment complex that _wasn't _rotting and in shambles had shamelessly been the last thing Eren's imagination cooked up when he heard that they would be going to wherever Rivaille stayed. Like every other building he'd seen so far, he expected it to be infested with parasites and made of decaying wood, but the place was actually something he could see someone comfortably living in. It was of lesser quality than his own house, but he expected that much from any apartment building.

"Listen up, Eren. Keep your mouth shut and let me talk for you. Understood?" Rivaille stated as he reached for the coppery doorknob, twisting the metal handle with a bloody palm. Eren nodded in response, not having planned to run his mouth the entire time anyways. He was about to verbally agree, but before he could even open his mouth, the door was suddenly ripped away from the hinges from inside. In the doorway stood a grinning brunette whose glasses were already slipping halfway down the bridge of her nose.

"About time you showed up! I heard you got shot – bet that wasn't fun, huh? Well go on, you know the drill, Rivaille," the woman demanded lightheartedly, her brown eyes locking onto Eren only seconds later before focusing on the blood smeared across his throat. "Oh, you're injured too? What's your name? You can sit with Ri—ow!" Wincing when a fist collided with her gut, the brunette waved a hand dismissively and stepped away from the doorway.

"Don't pester him with questions, Hanji. He's a guest. I want you to take care of him first," Rivaille deadpanned as he pushed his way past the woman and entered his apartment, little bits of blood dripping from his fingertips to the hardwood flooring. Grey eyes examined the living room while Eren and Annie entered behind him, the brunet reluctantly letting himself be dragged off to the side.

"Rivaille! You're ba—What's Eren doing here? Why are you both bleeding?" Petra's voice came from the left as she exited the bathroom, the soft _click _of the light turning off resounding in the room behind her. A green gaze snapped over in her direction before going wide, and Eren tried to pull himself away from the brunette insisting that he sit down on a kitchen stool.

"Ms. Ral? Wha—why are you here?" Eren questioned immediately, staring at the student teacher across from him. Her strawberry blonde hair fell above her shoulders, and the woman glanced away to avoid both Eren's bewildered stare and Rivaille's critical scowl, her fingers tucking a bit of hair behind her ear.

"I'm just checking in with a couple of friends," she pointed out, laughing softly under her breath. She knew Annie and Hanji had taken to staring her down as well, but she ignored the looks and settled down on the couch with a tired huff. "But let's not worry about me. Are you two alright?" Petra asked sheepishly, avoiding Rivaille's gaze for now.

"We're fine," the man stated simply, his eyes ripping away from Petra to focus on Hanji instead. "Hurry up and get him fixed. I want him home as soon as possible. And you," Rivaille paused for a second, his attention turning to Annie for the moment. "Go check in with the others. I know you want to tell them about what happened just now." The blonde watched him for a second, her eyes switching between the various faces filling the room before she nodded in agreement.

"I'm going back to Krista afterwards. I expect Eren to be with them by time I get done with everything," she stated, already turning on her heel towards the door and pulling it open again.

"Of course," Rivaille agreed, watching as the girl hesitated for a second when Eren raised his voice and gave a quick, "You guys know I can hear you, right?" He raised an eyebrow in question when Annie turned around to face him again, about to ask what she was waiting for before being interrupted by a fist in the collar of his jacket that yanked him down roughly.

"What's your connection to Eren?" she whispered in his ear, her tone flat and seemingly disinterested. A bored expression crossed over Rivaille's features when the words registered in his mind, and he moved a hand to the girl's wrist, his bloodied fingers threatening to break a bone.

"That's not something you need to know," he responded just as flatly, grey eyes scowling right back into harsh blue. A mild flicker of pain flashed through Annie's eyes when Rivaille's grip tightened on her wrist, and the girl jerked her hand back harshly.

The blonde pegged him with a hard stare before turning around again and wiping the blood on her jeans as she stepped out the door without another word. Rivaille watched her with a narrow gaze before sighing and pressing the back of his wrist to his forehead wearily. He turned away from the door and glanced around quickly, taking note of Petra's sheepish gaze and the chattering Hanji who kept Eren's attention while she cleaned the wound on his neck.

With a blank expression fitting itself on his features again, Rivaille made his way over to the couch situated across from Petra and nodded towards the restroom absently. "Mind fixing this? There's another kit in there," he muttered under his breath, ignoring the evident surprise that crossed the woman's features though she quickly nodded and went to retrieve the first-aid kit.

Leaning back against the couch tiredly, Rivaille closed his eyes and pressed his head back against the plush cushions behind him. "Hanji, when you're done with Eren, clean up the blood we've been tracking in," he muttered, his voice carrying the stressed exhaustion he'd been working to hide while Annie was around.

"Roger!" Hanji responded enthusiastically, her fingers now dexterously working to wrap a thin bandage around Eren's neck. "But you have to promise to buy me dinner next week if I have to clean up your messes," she added in as an afterthought, smiling towards the man who only waved her off with a sigh.

"If you're expecting me to rob a bank so I can take you somewhere nice, forget it," Rivaille responded, opening a single eye when footsteps entered the room again, his gaze landing on an uneasy Petra. Forcing himself to sit up properly, the man stretched his legs out and positioned himself so that his injured arm would be closest to the woman.

"And here I thought you were willing to do anything for me," Hanji playfully stated, laughing softly under her breath and stepping away from Eren after securing the bandage. "All right! All done. You should be good to go now." The brunet gave a little nod of acknowledgement as Hanji packed up the mess she left behind on the counter and went to put the kit back in a cabinet.

Fingers moving to tug at the constraint around his neck, Eren turned on his stool to look over in Rivaille's direction and watched as a tense silence settled around the man and Petra. Something felt strange about how the two were interacting without speaking, and the brunet couldn't help but continue to question what Petra had to do with these people.

He wanted to try asking again, but Eren figured he'd simply be brushed off once more in the end. Sighing under his breath, the teen leaned back against the counter behind him and stared up at the off-white ceiling hanging above his head before digging his phone out of his pocket and glancing down at it slightly. _Should probably text Mikasa and Armin…_

"Hey, Eren. You said Petra's the student teacher for your literature class didn't you? How well does she teach?" Rivaille suddenly spoke up, catching everyone off guard with his question. Hanji tuned into what he was saying from where she was wiping off the front doorknob, and Petra's fingers tensed automatically. Eren paused in his attempt to text his sister and gave a careful shrug of his shoulders.

"She's nice. I think she's pretty helpful, too. But then again she _is _sitting right there so I can't say anything bad," the brunet responded, trying to lighten the mood a little bit with the small grin that played across his lips. Petra gave her own little smile at his words, but Eren could tell the expression was forced.

"Is that so? I figured she'd be a good teacher," Rivaille breathed, sighing under his breath and shooting the woman a knowing look. Amber eyes averted his gaze guiltily, and she wore an apologetic expression.

"She's better than most student teachers I've dealt with," Eren added in afterwards, looking up towards the ceiling again thoughtfully. "And I don't think anyone has any complaints about her… Oh, that reminds me." Turning his attention to the two across from him, Eren shifted on his stool and placed his phone on his lap. "What did you mean when you said she's a good liar?"

Petra's form froze when Eren's words met her ears, and she gripped Rivaille's arm tightly where she was beginning to wrap a bandage around the sterilized wound. A harsh grey gaze looked down on her dauntingly, and she slowly forced her hands to work. She stayed silent while Rivaille and Eren watched her, a soft sigh escaping beneath her breath.

"Nothing much," Rivaille began, catching the woman's attention and forcing amber eyes to look up at him. "She's just good at making Shakespeare sound interesting. Half of what she says about him is bullshit though." Wide eyes stared straight into his own, and Rivaille sighed deeply while Petra forced out a little laugh and looked at Eren guiltily.

"He's right. Everyone always seems so annoyed by Shakespeare though. I don't understand why," the woman responded, forcing the words past her lips with a slight hesitation. She tried to focus on her work again, wrapping the rest of the bandage around Rivaille's wound quickly.

"That's because his name has been worn out!" Hanji provided from where she was cleaning up the remaining blood on the floor. "Literature gets so repetitive. All you hear is, 'Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Shakespeare.' I was annoyed with it in high school too," the brunette explained, adjusting her glasses and pushing herself up from the floor.

"Well, I guess that makes sense," Petra muttered under her breath, securing Rivaille's bandage in place before moving back and packing up the first-aid supplies. She continued to avoid the accusing grey gaze boring into the side of her face and stood up properly before stretching slightly. "Don't forget to wash your other hand," she mentioned to Rivaille quietly before grabbing the kit and disappearing in the direction of the restroom.

Eren watched the scene play out in front with an amused expression on his face, and he shook his head slightly. "And here I thought you meant she was lying to the government or something," he stated with a soft laugh. "Lying about Shakespeare is a smart idea though. I don't like him either. Romeo and Juliet put me to sleep," the brunet mentioned, grinning at Hanji while Rivaille stood from the couch and flexed his injured arm experimentally.

"That one's the worst! Why kids still have to learn about it, I'll never understand," Hanji responded enthusiastically, laughing alongside Eren before pausing and looking over her shoulder when Rivaille nudged her from behind. Leaning down enough to almost match his height, she listened as he whispered in her ear, giving a quick nod afterwards. "Gotcha. I'll check on it," she responded simply, fixing her posture when Rivaille acknowledged the response and continued making his way to the sink.

Eren watched the man with some form of curiosity, wondering about what he told Hanji. He wouldn't pry though considering the chances of him meeting Rivaille again after today were slim to none, and a look of realization crossed his features when he remembered he was supposed to message Armin and Mikasa. Shuffling around on the stool slightly, he grabbed his phone from his lap and focused on the screen again, not minding the silence that had filled the room.

Rivaille looked over to Eren while lukewarm water ran over his fingers, the clear liquid turning red as it rushed toward the drain. Hanji sent him a look asking for confirmation, and he nodded to her when their gazes met, mouthing a simple, "Go ahead." She gave him a simple thumbs up in response before turning on her heel and clapping her hands together loudly, effectively causing Eren to nearly jump off his stool.

"Alright! I have some work to do so I'll be heading out for a while," she announced as Petra resurfaced from the restroom, the light flicking off behind her again. Amber eyes focused on the brunette, and a small frown creased Petra's lips.

"You're leaving me here alone with two guys?" the blonde questioned, making her way over to the couch while Hanji nodded and laughed at her words. Eren's attention landed on her for a moment, and she smiled softly at the brunet. "Guess I'm in your hands then, Eren." A slight flush crossed the teen's cheeks thanks to the comment, and he jerked his head away to stare down at his phone instead while muttering a quiet, "Y-yeah, guess so."

"I won't be gone long, don't worry. I just have a few visits to make across town," Hanji explained, dismissing Petra's unsure glance in her direction. "I'm not careless enough to get shot like this idiot. I'll be fine," she reassured, laughing even as Rivaille landed a harsh punch to her ribs as he passed by. "Don't kill anyone while I'm gone!"

"Too late for that," Rivaille grunted under his breath, and Hanji caught him by the back of his jacket, pulling him back slightly. She leaned down enough to whisper by his ear, her tone going uncharacteristically serious.

"Don't torment her too much, Rivaille. I know there's something wrong here," the brunette warned, casting a long glance towards Rivaille's face as she stepped back. A small frown creased her lips while Eren watched everyone silently, but she quickly wiped the expression away and waved as she turned towards the door. "I'll be back then!" she pointed out before disappearing into the hallway with a final wave.

Rivaille let out a deep sigh once the woman was gone and made his way over to the couch, sitting down across from Petra once again. Eren fidgeted on his stool slightly when that tense silence from before began to settle throughout the room again, his eyes flicking between Petra and Rivaille. The student teacher's gaze was downcast towards her hands that were folded in her lap, and Rivaille's tired stare was aimed towards the ceiling. Eren watched them both quietly before slumping back against the counter and looking down at his phone.

A few minutes passed like that, and Eren noticed that Rivaille's eyes fell closed somewhere along the way. Awkwardly, he tugged at the bandage around his neck to loosen it slightly and looked down at the screen of his phone when it suddenly started vibrating. A sigh fell from the brunet's lips, and he unlocked the screen just to end up smiling at the frantic messages that piled in.

He reassured everyone that he was still alive and would be back before they knew it, but his attention was caught when Rivaille muttered his name from across the room. Perking up slightly, the brunet watched him curiously, about to ask what he wanted before Rivaille pushed himself up from the couch with a deep sigh.

"Hey, Eren." Tilting his head slightly when he was addressed directly, the teen watched as Rivaille crossed the floor to stand in front of him. Cold grey eyes stared straight into his own, and Eren swore he saw a tinge of hurt disappointment in those harsh eyes. Before he could ask what it meant, a hand was on the back of his head, and he was being pulled forward slightly. Eyes widening in surprise, Eren moved to push away just for Rivaille's grip to tighten and his forehead to be forcefully pressed against the other man's.

"A-ah hey—what're you doing? Let go of me—"

"Shut up. It's only for a second, so let me do this," Rivaille interrupted, his voice holding a tone of deprivation that Eren didn't quite understand. He tried to push away again, but his arms didn't have the strength anymore, and Eren found himself uselessly dealing with the unexpected contact. Rivaille's eyes slipped shut, and he watched as the man visibly seemed to relax a little bit, though the barely coherent whisper that fell from his lips caught Eren off guard.

Petra looked away from the scene with guilty eyes, her fingers holding the edge of the couch cushions tightly. She figured that Rivaille had remembered something again during that time his eyes were closed, and she couldn't bear with watching the man pull Eren against him when _she_ was the one who kept them apart for several months. _Eren doesn't remember… You did it for Rivaille's sake, Petra. _Reminding herself of her original motives, the woman shook her head and looked at her lap again.

When Rivaille stepped away from him with that disappointed look in his eyes again, Eren couldn't help but feel like he was somehow the reason for it. He knew he shouldn't have been – he'd never done anything that could disappoint the man anyways. _Oh wait… I suppose I forgot about him from whenever we met before… Was he important?_

Wracking his mind for any memory of this man's face, Eren found himself drawing blanks left and right even as Rivaille resumed his position on the couch and hiked his legs up over the armrest. Petra's gaze travelled from her lap to the man across from her before moving to Eren, and she stayed silent as she reached for a magazine from the coffee table between her couch and Rivaille's.

The brunet shifted on his stool again before looking down at his phone and kicking his feet absently. He powered the screen on and gazed down at the message alerts quietly, debating whether or not he should respond to them. He'd already confirmed he was alright, so why was everyone freaking out _now_? He'd only had one or two messages from Mikasa before he sent his own, and suddenly his inbox was a mess of concern.

When he looked up from his phone again and took in the sight of Rivaille half-asleep on the couch and Petra shifting to cross her legs beneath herself while reading the women's sports section of the magazine, Eren couldn't help the wave of nostalgia that passed over him. Where had he seen this scene before?

Shaking away the questioning thoughts, Eren sighed and heavily leaned back against the counter, staring up at the ceiling before shutting his eyes and clutching his phone tightly.

_I just want to go back home…_


	4. Shameless Deception

_Cold fingers threaded through his hair, and despite the cold touch, Eren could feel his face heating up considerably. His hands, once limply lying on his lap, moved to push at Rivaille's shoulders weakly, but he was stopped midway when a dull sting throbbed in the back of his skull. Green eyes widening in surprise, Eren made a comment of protest just to be cut off by Rivaille's eerily desperate voice, "Let me do this."_

_Confused and hesitant, Eren obediently followed the order, his hands uselessly gripping Rivaille's shoulders. Grey eyes that bore directly into his soul fell shut, and the brunet fidgeted uneasily. He could feel Rivaille's shoulders slump beneath his touch, and some form of relaxation seemed to wash over the man in a relieving wave._

"_I'm sorry." At first, Eren hadn't even been sure he heard the whisper properly, and bewildered eyes shot over to Petra while she looked towards the wall, her fingers gripping the couch tightly. Ripping his gaze away from the woman, Eren focused on Rivaille again, awkwardly letting him stay in his current position. He was about to ask what the man meant, but before he could, the warm contact on his forehead disappeared, and thin fingers unthreaded themselves from his hair._

_The look he was pegged with made his heart clench guiltily, but he couldn't pinpoint why. The depressed, disappointed glint in Rivaille's eyes caused a chill to settle deep in his bones, and Eren avoided the gaze as best as he could. He peeked to the side again, however, when he noticed movement, his stare trailing after Rivaille as the man settled down on the couch with a soft sigh._

_He watched as Petra reached for one of the magazines on the coffee table and shifted to sit with her legs crossed beneath herself, and Eren couldn't help the nagging feel of nostalgia eating away at the back of his mind._

* * *

The first thing Eren noticed was that the ceiling of Rivaille's bedroom was a strange off-white color that almost looked red when the room was lit by dim floor lamps. Tired green eyes stared up at the patterned ceiling while an occupied mind wandered back to the last words Rivaille said to him before everyone ended up falling asleep, and Eren shifted to fold his arms behind his head.

He figured Petra and Rivaille were still asleep in the living room, and he assumed that Hanji had come back at some point and carried him somewhere more comfortable than the counter he had fallen asleep against. At first, he had freaked out about being in a room he didn't recognize, but after a good ten seconds evaluating the area, he noticed that the décor was similar to that of the living room he'd already seen.

With a sigh, Eren rolled over onto his side and pulled the comforter with him, staring at the wall to the right of the bed. A small furrow creased his brows, and he scowled at the wall thoughtfully. _I still don't know what he apologized for. Maybe he didn't mean to say it._

While the thought reeled around in the forefront of his mind, Eren stretched his legs out and pulled the blanket up to his neck, wincing slightly when the back of his hand hit his bandaged injury. _Oh yeah. He probably apologized for dragging me into this mess. That could make sense._

"What the hell are you doing in my bed? I was just about to start thinking you ran away and got yourself killed." Flinching out of his thoughts when Rivaille's voice suddenly broke his concentration, Eren jerked himself up into a sitting position automatically, already moving to push the covers away.

"I uh, I think Hanji put me here. I fell asleep at the kitchen counter," Eren explained, giving a small shrug of his shoulders. Rivaille eyed him with that blank mask of an expression he normally wore, and the brunet refused to let his eyes waver from the other man's. Several tense seconds passed, but Rivaille eventually sighed and crossed his arms over his chest tightly.

"Just get out of my bed. You're probably filthy," Rivaille grunted, watching Eren closely as he shuffled out from beneath the covers and subconsciously moved a hand to the wound on his throat. Grey eyes dimmed slightly, and his own fingers brushed against the bandage on his left arm. "About your neck—"

"It's alright," Eren interrupted, self-consciously forcing his hand back down to his side. "You already apologized for it," he added in afterwards, his shoulders rising and falling in another neutral shrug. Rivaille's eyes narrowed slightly, and a small frown pulled at his lips, but he didn't respond with anything other than a simple, "I know that."

Another silence lingered in the air, and Eren awkwardly forced his gaze to remain locked on Rivaille's. He could practically feel the man evaluating him down to the tiny birthmark on the side of his right hand, and he fidgeted in his place anxiously. The prying eyes locking him in place held years' worth of killing intent in their depths, and Eren prayed to whatever higher power there might've been that the bloodlust wasn't aimed towards him.

"What time is it?" Rivaille suddenly asked, his question catching Eren off guard. The brunet fumbled for a short second before shoving a hand into his pocket and extracting his phone from its usual confinements. His thumb slid across the screen, and it lit up with electronic life, presenting him with the flood of messages he decided to ignore earlier.

"A little past midnight…" Eren muttered, frowning at his own words. "Shit, I need to get back to everyone!" he exclaimed loudly, checking the latest message in his inbox. Rivaille watched him with a blank stare, but Eren ignored it for now and focused on his phone, missing the frown that creased the man's brow.

His thumbs moved over the onscreen keyboard to type a response to Armin and Mikasa, and Eren stared down at the screen intently. Too focused to notice the footsteps approaching him, the brunet let out a surprised sound when strong fingers were suddenly curling into the collar of his shirt and jerking him down harshly. Green eyes going wide as he was forced down to Rivaille's height, Eren temporarily forgot about his phone and the message that was automatically saving itself as a draft.

"Uh—Is something wrong?" he questioned with a slight laugh, ignoring the feral look passing through Rivaille's eyes. _Shit, what the hell's with that glare?_

"Nothing's changed. And that annoys me," Rivaille responded simply, his words striking a new sense of confusion into Eren. His expression contorted into one of distrust and perplexity, and the brunet moved his phone to one hand, the other moving to grip Rivaille's wrist lightly. A flicker of something he didn't recognize passed through those grey eyes, and Eren swallowed thickly. _Don't piss him off, dumbass!_

"Okay, look, you're obviously referencing this time we met in the past, but I don't understand what you mean. Could you just…explain what you're saying right now?" Eren asked carefully, pushing on Rivaille's wrist and trying to take a step back. The man stepped forward in response, however, and the brunet glanced away uneasily.

"You're still as dense as ever," Rivaille stated flatly, sighing under his breath and scowling directly into Eren's eyes once their gazes met again. The fingers around his wrist tightened slightly, and Rivaille's stare narrowed in response. "What are you doing?"

"Can you not be so close?" the brunet questioned, attempting to move back again, his eyes darting off to the side instead of looking directly at Rivaille. He could feel the man's deadly glare boring into the side of his face, and Eren tried pushing Rivaille's wrist again. "It's uncomfortable." The way grey eyes narrowed to slits in half a second told Eren he chose the wrong words, and before he really caught onto what had happened, he was jerked forward forcefully and his mouth was barely half an inch from Rivaille's.

"It's uncomfortable? Then this must be a fucking painful position for you," Rivaille bit out, his breath warm against Eren's lips. Green eyes widened in surprise, but the brunet found himself unable to move – completely paralyzed by the intense gaze striking into his very core. "Nothing to say, brat?"

"Rivaille? Are you in here? I keep hearing your voi—" The words fell short when amber eyes fixed onto the scene displayed in front of them, and Rivaille clicked his tongue in irritation. He shoved Eren away roughly, causing the brunet to stumble and catch himself on the edge of the bedside table at the last second. Turning away from the teenager, he smoothed out the front of his shirt and looked towards Petra silently.

"It's late," the blonde murmured when Rivaille scowled at her once his back was turned to Eren. "We should take him home before his friends worry _too _much," she added in afterwards, sighing softly when Rivaille's harsh gaze didn't lighten up in the slightest.

"Is Hanji here?" he questioned flatly, ignoring the way he could literally feel Eren's confused gaze burning holes in his back. The kid wanted answers, he was sure, but hell – Rivaille was nearly certain Eren wasn't even sure what questions he wanted answered first. Petra gave a short nod and shifted her weight onto one foot, her hands going to lock together behind her back.

"She's out front. I found her when I first got up to look for you. I thought you would be smoking. When I came back in, I heard voices in here and well – here we are now," Petra explained, giving a small shrug of her shoulders. Rivaille nodded while he evaluated her words, and his scowl finally softened to a blank stare once he looked over his shoulder towards Eren.

"You're staying over in Yalkell, aren't you?" Nodding slightly at the words, the brunet pushed himself away from the small table he had started leaning on and slid his phone back into his pocket.

"Yeah. Wait—How the hell do you know that?" Mistrust gracing his features, Eren eyed Rivaille suspiciously while grey eyes rolled and the man's focus returned to Petra. His hands slid deep into his pockets, and Rivaille exaggerated a deep sigh.

"Are you completely forgetting the events of today, dumbass? Considering I'm affiliated with her, I know where Annie lives. And I know that you're staying with her. Should I explain more?" Rivaille responded, his gaze set on the strawberry blonde across from him but his words directed to the teenager behind him. He could imagine Eren opening his mouth to say something but deciding against it and sighing instead, and he shifted slightly as a frown passed over his lips.

"No, I got it," Eren grumbled under his breath, lifting a hand to run it through his hair. "It'll take forever to get there though. The trains aren't running this late," the brunet pointed out, his eyebrows knitting together when Rivaille waved him off and passed by Petra in the doorway.

"Petra, you'll ride with Hanji. We're taking you home, too. Eren will be with me," he stated as he stepped past the blonde, completely ignoring Eren's reiteration of the trains being done with their routes for the night. Petra sighed under her breath while she watched Rivaille walk towards the front door, her hands falling from behind her back to her sides.

"How the hell does he expect to get all the way to Yalkell without the train?" Eren grumbled under his breath, his voice catching Petra's attention. The student teacher looked over towards him with a small smile before a slight laugh slipped from her lips and she motioned for him to join her as she turned to walk back into the living room.

"You'd be surprised. Rivaille is a peculiar man. He knows a lot of things that most people don't. Hanji is the same way. They know all the shortcuts to get from region to region," Petra explained, pausing for a moment once she was halfway through the living room. An expression of grief passed over her features, and she turned to face Eren slightly after a moment of thought. "By the way, even though you may not have the best impression of Rivaille, don't start hating him too early, Eren. He's been through a lot, but he's actually a good person. He's saved my life, and he's not someone to fear. He's on your side."

Staring at the woman silently, Eren let her words register in the back of his mind, and he diverted his gaze to stare at the magazine she left behind on the couch earlier. "I don't hate him. I just don't trust him. I understand why he hurt me. And if I have to be honest, he saved my life once already, too," the brunet grumbled under his breath, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. Amber eyes widened in surprise, and Eren sighed deeply when he noticed the change in expression.

"When he first grabbed me, these guys were following him, and they had guns. He could've easily used me as a sacrifice or something, but when one of them went to raise his gun, he was already pushing me away before the bullet was even shot. I don't know how he noticed it. He could've let me get killed, but he didn't," Eren explained, shrugging his shoulders begrudgingly. "But I still don't trust him."

Laughing softly under her breath, Petra nodded in understanding and smiled at Eren before turning around and heading towards the door again. "Just give him a chance. You're someone who means a lot to him, Eren."

Blinking in surprise, Eren watched the woman's back while his mind reeled over her words confusedly. _You're someone who means a lot to him, Eren. _The brunet shook his head quickly and forced himself into action, following after the student teacher quickly as she opened the front door. "Wait! Can—Can you explain that to me? If you know what my connection to Rivaille used to be, can you tell me? He obviously won't, and I swear I can't remember."

Petra paused once she had the door open, and a faint smile tugged the corners of her lips. She shook her head slightly before looking up at Eren, and the teen swore the temperature in the room dropped at least ten degrees when her gaze met his. "If it's something that's truly important, you'll remember it on your own, Eren."

Frowning at the words, Eren was about to protest, but the woman was already turning her back to him before he could stop her, and he sighed in frustration. He ran his fingers through his hair roughly and pursed his lips in annoyance as he followed her out the door, using his foot to pull it closed once he stepped out.

A mildly uneasy silence settled in the hall while they walked, their carpet-muffled footsteps being the only sounds to break the quiet atmosphere. Eren's fingers fidgeted with the phone in his pocket, and he looked anywhere except at the back of his teacher as they made their way to the end of the hall and to the lobby of the apartment building.

Eren's eyes narrowed into a squint when he focused on the glass doors leading outside, and he could just barely see someone aggressively throwing keys at another person. When he heard Petra sigh ahead of him, he automatically assumed that the two were Rivaille and Hanji, and a sigh of his own fell from his lips.

"Oh! Eren! Petra! Just in time!" Hanji's attention suddenly switched to the two once they stepped out, and a pair of keys nailed her right in the side of the head. Easily ignoring the dull pain, she grabbed the keys from the ground and swung them around her index finger, grinning widely. "I heard we're taking you guys home. It's pretty dark out, huh? Hope we don't get in an accident," the woman mused, causing Eren to grimace and give Petra a worried look. The blonde only smiled and waved it off dismissively, laughing quietly under her breath.

"You know as well as I do we won't wreck anything, Hanji," Rivaille grunted, catching Eren's attention just in time for the brunet's jaw to go slack and his eyes to focus on the polished black sports bike beside the man. His eyes darted over to Hanji afterwards just to see a matching motorbike, and the woman grinned when she caught onto his expression.

"Yep, they're Kawasaki Ninjas alright. Illegally possessed but we haven't been caught yet," Hanji announced proudly, patting the front of her bike with a pompous smirk. "You're riding with Rivaille, hope you don't mind. You'll have to go without a helmet, but don't worry. We're experts when it comes to these," the brunette explained as she threw one leg over the body of the bike and situated herself on the seat. Her fingers moved to push the key into the ignition, and the vehicle roared to life while Eren continued to gawk in surprise.

"Stop drooling already, stupid brat. Get on," Rivaille commanded as he started his own bike and made sure to settle his balance. Eren stared for a second longer before shaking his head and making his way towards Rivaille, sending an uneasy glance to Petra. The blonde gave him a simple thumbs up before joining Hanji, making her way to her seat easily.

Copying the actions as best as he could, Eren clumsily situated himself behind Rivaille, and his hands hovered above his knees uncertainly. He cast another look over to the student teacher, nearly falling off the bike again when he saw that her arms were tightly wrapped around Hanji's waist, and she was settled close to the woman's back. _Do I… Do I have to do that?_

"Oi, what the hell are you waiting for? You have to hold on if you don't want to get thrown off," Rivaille bit out, glaring over his shoulder towards Eren. The brunet swallowed thickly thanks to the hostile gaze, and he hesitantly moved closer, his arms winding themselves around Rivaille's stomach. He felt the man tense beneath him, but he ignored it and pressed his chest to his back tightly.

"What the hell are you doing? You could've just—No, actually…this is better," Rivaille grumbled under his breath, cutting himself off before he reminded Eren that he could've just hooked his thumbs through the belt loops of his jeans. Cursing himself for his own choice mentally, Rivaille focused ahead again and shot a glare towards an obviously smirking Hanji. _Damn bitch._

"Don't fall off, Eren," he muttered under his breath before shifting to get in a better position, lifting his foot from the ground that had been keeping everything balanced up until this point.

"We're separating at the halfway mark, right? They're in two different directions," Hanji stated over the roar of engines, and Rivaille nodded in confirmation. A final thumbs up was directed towards them before the engine of Hanji's bike revved up, and she took off first, Rivaille following right behind.

Eren's grip around the man tightened automatically, and his cheek was firmly pressed against a warm back. He bit the inside of his lower lip instinctively when he realized what he was doing, and he did his best to focus on everything _other _than Rivaille's warmth. He could've sworn the man was coldblooded before, but now he wasn't too sure. With Petra's words floating around in his mind, Eren sighed and rested his head against the back of Rivaille's shoulder.

_Maybe he isn't too bad._

* * *

The front porch lights were on, and the window of the room Eren was sharing with Mikasa and Armin was lit up when Rivaille pulled into the driveway of Krista's aunt's house. Eren had fallen half-asleep somewhere along the way, and he was gripping onto Rivaille tightly even once the engine was cut and the man was balancing the vehicle carefully. He let out a discontented grumble when an elbow dug into his ribs, and Eren lifted his head from Rivaille's shoulder tiredly.

"Wake up already. Your friends are waiting," Rivaille muttered under his breath, his hands moving to remove Eren's arms from his waist. The brunet let out an incoherent mumble of sorts but forced his body to move, sitting up on the back of the motorbike and stretching his arms over his head wearily.

"What time is it…?" he questioned, yawning and eyeing Rivaille as the man stared at him over his shoulder. Grey eyes rolled at him, and Rivaille nodded towards the house.

"Time for you to get off and go inside," he responded flatly, and Eren sighed at the words. He craned his neck from side to side, wincing slightly at the cracks of his joints before shifting to climb off the back of the vehicle, his feet hitting the ground with little coordination. Rivaille watched him silently the whole time, carefully examining each of his little mannerisms. "Stop acting drunk and get a hold of yourself. You can't be _that _tired," he commented, eyes narrowing towards Eren when the brunet ran a hand through his own hair tiredly.

"I actually _am _that tired," Eren retorted, a yawn punctuating his words as he slid his hands in his pockets and watched Rivaille with mild interest. The man stared back at him with a disinterested expression on his face, and Eren raised a brow in question. "What?"

"Just get inside, Jaeger," Rivaille ordered, his hand moving to start up the engine again. The brunet sighed at the words and nodded exhaustedly, taking a few steps back towards the front door.

"Will I see you again?" As soon as he asked, Eren wanted to take the question back and erase its existence completely. Rivaille was staring at him silently, grey eyes a little wider than usual, and the engine of his sports bike roared in the background. A tense atmosphere seemed to settle around them, and Eren opened his mouth to quickly tell Rivaille not to mind the question, but he was cut off by a single flat statement.

"Only if you remember my name next time." Before he could say anything in response, the engine revved loudly, and Rivaille was turning around in the driveway. Watching as the man crouched over the body of the vehicle, Eren sighed and shook his head in defeat when it took off down the street. He ran a hand through his hair absently and turned on his heel, walking along the length of the driveway and up the porch steps.

Quietly, Eren pushed the front door open and peeked inside before slipping in through the small opening he created. He carefully shut the door behind himself and locked it, but he barely had the time to let out a sigh of relief before Mikasa and Armin were rushing out of their room.

"Eren! You're back! We were so worried!"

"Where were you? Are you okay? What's wrong with your neck? What the hell happened? Tell me _everything_."

Questions were fired off left and right, and Eren held up his hands defensively, a sheepish grin gracing his features. "Guys, guys, calm down. I'm okay. I just got a little cut on my neck and there was a woman nice enough to bandage it for me," he explained pathetically, pressing himself back against the door when the sound of various locks opening resounded through the halls.

Before he had a chance to finish explaining himself, everyone else was already surfacing and shouting more questions at him. His eyes focused solely on Annie, however, when she appeared at the back of the group, her cold gaze seeing right through him.

"Guys, shut up!" Eren shouted, glaring at the noisy group. Their voices died down a little, and Krista apologized quietly for pressing so many questions on him when he just got back. With a sigh, the brunet told her it was alright and slumped against the door behind him.

"So where did you disappear to, Eren? You're not hiding hickeys or something with that bandage, are you?" Jean questioned with a smirk, his words causing Mikasa to tense and glare at him heatedly.

"There's no way Eren would do anything like that," she deadpanned, her expression softening slightly and turning worried when she looked to her brother again, "Right?" Eren quickly shook his head in protest, sighing and self-consciously moving a hand to the bandage around his neck.

"Of course not. I ran into a bit of trouble, this guy had a knife—" Pausing for a second when he felt rather than saw the bloody killing intent in Mikasa's eyes, Eren quickly corrected himself with a short laugh. "I mean, he saved my life, so I'm okay with a little injury. It'll heal quickly anyways."

"How'd you get back? The trains aren't running anymore," Connie pointed out, eliciting voices of agreement from those around him. Eren's hand moved to scratch at the back of his head, and he smiled sheepishly before smirking and sending a taunting look towards Jean.

"Well, actually, I got a ride from that guy who saved my life. He has a Kawasaki Ninja. Cool, right?"

"You're lying," Jean grunted, rolling his eyes at the words. Eren simply shrugged his shoulders and looked between Krista and Sasha, his eyes meeting Annie's again. Her expression was apathetically stoic as usual, and Eren knew that everything he was saying could and would be used against him. _Does she know about the stolen bikes?_

"Guys, I think we should let Eren have a minute to breathe. He just got back and he's already answered at least a few questions, so let's leave him be," Armin mentioned, raising his voice slightly to be heard by everyone in the group. Marco and Krista were the first to agree, and a chorus of agreements soon followed.

Relieved by his friend's suggestion, Eren tiredly thanked the blond as the group dispersed, his eyes solely trained on Annie while she walked back to her own room. _I wonder where she went earlier today. _Frowning slightly at his thought, the brunet rubbed at the back of his neck absently, jumping reflexively when Mikasa touched his shoulder and asked if he was alright.

"I'm fine, Mikasa. Just tired," he grumbled under his breath, following both his sister and best friend back to the room they were all sharing. He collapsed on the bed tiredly only seconds before twisting over onto his side with a groan and shoving himself back up again. With a sigh, Eren moved back onto his feet and excused himself to go to the bathroom begrudgingly. _Damn, just wait until I can rest peacefully, why don't you, stomach?_

Shaking his head and grunting softly under his breath, Eren slipped out of his room and made his way down the hall, careful to keep his footsteps quiet so he wouldn't bother anyone else. When he passed by Annie's room, however, he paused and backtracked until he was standing right outside the door. He could faintly make out the girl's voice, and he glanced around cautiously before pressing his ear to the white wood.

"_Is it about Rivaille again?"_

Blinking slightly when he heard Rivaille's name get mentioned, Eren frowned and listened harder, biting down on his tongue in concentration. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully, and he tried to distinguish as many of the words as he could.

"_I don't see why you called my home phone. I would've preferred it if you called my cell phone."_

Eren thought over the words for a moment before stepping away from the door and checking his surroundings again. The twisted feeling in his stomach disappeared for now, and he turned on his heel to head for the kitchen. He knew there were two home phones throughout the house – one in the kitchen, and one in the living room. With any luck, one of them would still be left behind.

_Wait…Why am I doing this? She mentioned Rivaille. So what? _With his lips forming a thoughtful frown again, Eren padded into the kitchen quietly, his eyes catching sight of the phone resting on its stand almost immediately. _I'm doing it for Petra. That's right. She's my teacher. I'm…supposed to report anything suspicious to an adult. Yeah, that works. _

Guardedly, Eren took a quick look around the empty room before reaching for the phone with one hand, his other one automatically moving to press down on the pressure sensor on the platform. Doing his best to hold his breath so he couldn't be heard by either party, the brunet brought the phone close to his ear and listened closely with narrowed, focused eyes.

"_I would have said I'm selling religious pamphlets." _The voice was one he didn't recognize, and Eren briefly wondered just who Annie was calling at such a late hour.

"_Of course you would have."_

"_But no one else picked up, now did they? So let's get down to business. I hear Rivaille knows something we don't." _

Eren fought back the urge to question what Rivaille could possibly know and why it mattered, but he bit his tongue and kept his voice under control. Instead of saying anything, he devoted his concentration to remaining silent and taking in the entire conversation.

"_I'm not sure what it is, but he has some weird connection to my cousin's friend. And I heard one of them mention his name before, but it was something about a 'Lance Corporal' from over a thousand years ago." _Annie's voice filtered through the line again, and Eren's brow furrowed slightly. '_My cousin's friend'…does she mean me?_

"_Could just be coincidence."_

"_Nothing is ever a coincidence with Rivaille." _

Adjusting the phone by his ear slightly, the brunet slowly released his breath before holding it again and glancing around the kitchen. The last thing he needed was to get caught not only by Annie, but by someone else as well.

"_I can't deny that. What do you think it means?"_

"_I think it means he's working behind our backs." _

Eren gnawed on the inside of his lower lip when Annie's words met his ears, internally questioning who else Rivaille could be working for or against. As far as Eren was concerned, he was supposedly a good guy who was affiliated with Annie, the student teacher for his literature class, and an interesting brunette who could run her mouth for days.

"_Just like we're working behind his?"_

"_Exactly."_

"_Well, whatever. It's four against one in the end." _

The voice Eren didn't recognize filtered through the line again, and he moved to lean back against the counter, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder while he looked up at the ceiling. He assumed that Rivaille was the 'one' in this equation, but he couldn't quite place who the other four people working against him would be. Surely it wasn't Petra, Hanji, Annie, and the mysterious girl Eren was listening to now. No, that would be impossible. _Petra and Hanji are good._

"_Four against two, actually. Maybe even three." _

"…_What? Who else is there?"_

_Yeah, that's what I want to know, _Eren thought with a roll of his eyes, about to let out an agitated sigh before quickly stopping himself, his left hand covering his mouth tightly.

"_Hanji. She was checking the artillery warehouse earlier today. She had to get a spare key from Rivaille's place. Petra was there when we showed up."_

"_Oh? The old trio is reuniting then? Guess we're not good enough for him anymore." _

Nodding slowly to himself, Eren worked to mentally put a few things together, ultimately deciding that Petra and Hanji _were _in fact on Rivaille's team. His interest rose a little, as well, when an artillery warehouse was mentioned. _They have a fucking artillery warehouse?_

"_I think you mean he's not good enough for us."_

"_I like the way you think, Annie."_

"_So what are we going to do?" _

Green eyes narrowing suspiciously, Eren shifted against the counter again and looked around before reaching for a basket of fruit sitting across the counter. He stopped midway, however, and froze when that unfamiliar voice passed through the line again.

"_Well, that's easy. You of all people should know what I'm thinking. We're gonna get rid of all the rats in our system – starting with Petra."_


	5. Evasive Maneuvers: Part One

"_Petra? But Hanji's the biggest concern aside from Rivaille. Shouldn't she go first?"_

Cracked, dirtied nails tapped against the metal tabletop insistently, and cigarette smoke curled out from between chapped lips. A low hum reverberated off the walls of the darkened room, and fingers threaded through dark brown hair thoughtfully. "If we get rid of Petra first, it'll wreck both Hanji and Rivaille and leave an opening. It's like killing three birds with one stone. It'll be more fun to watch him break that way anyways."

The line crackled with static that filled the following void of silence while the statement was carefully evaluated, and brown eyes watched the far wall with a smirking glint in their depths. "Well? What do you think? It's a good idea, isn't it?"

"_I suppose so. But getting to Petra won't be easy. She lives in Maria now."_

"Didn't you say you saw her today?"

"…_That was hours ago. I'm sure she's been sent back."_

Another silence settled after the words, and the tapping of fingers against metal paused for a brief moment. Crickets chirping outside could be heard in the stillness of the room, and a contemplative glance fixed itself on the nearby window, staring at the drawn curtains carefully. Tense seconds passed by with the quiet tick of the clock on the wall, and static fizzled in the background of the phone.

"_Ymir?"_

"Shut up, I'm thinking. If we want to get Petra before she's out of reach for a while, we have to go now."

"_I can't. I'm not about to risk being caught. I heard someone in the hall a while ago, and I don't think they've returned to their room." _The creaking of the old office chair riddled the air when its occupant moved to their feet, and the wheels scraped against rotting wood noisily.

"Where's Rivaille? I don't want to run into him. I'll take the other two with me, but I don't want to be held up either way."

"_The last time I saw him was before I left his apartment. I can't say for sure where he is now." _A sigh filtered through the line, dark eyes drifting to the ceiling. A short pause broke the conversation, and the clicking of boots against wood filled the silence temporarily.

"Are you lying to me, Annie?"

"_I'm not."_

"I swear to god if you actually _do_ know where he—"

"_Ymir. I'm telling the truth. Trust me." _Brown eyes narrowed carefully, and a burning cigarette fell to the floor before being thoroughly crushed by the metal heel of a boot. The sound of tumblers falling in and out of place resounded through the room as the main door was unlocked, and hinges squealed loudly as the door was pulled open.

"Yeah, alright. Tell Bertholdt and Reiner to meet me in Rose in half an hour. My phone's dying."

"_Understood."_

The call ended with the dial tone droning in the background before being promptly cut off as the phone was flipped shut and shoved into a pocket haphazardly, and footsteps echoed in the hallway loudly. Tanned fingers hooked into the belt loops of torn jeans, and a smirk tugged at chapped lips.

_See ya soon, Petra. It'll be the last time we meet for a while._

* * *

The line died with static fizz, and Eren was left staring at the other side of the kitchen in utter confusion. The phone in his hand cut to the dial tone and its annoying buzzing sound was lost to Eren's mind while he thought. "Killing three birds with one stone?" he repeated aloud, thinking over the phrase before he turned and replaced the house phone on its receiver.

His fingers were shoved through mussed brown hair, and he leaned back against the counter heavily while he contemplated the new information that had been revealed to him. He knew something had been wrong the second his teacher's name was mentioned, but he hadn't expected to learn that someone was actually plotting to _kill _her. Hell, he hadn't expected that _Annie _was one of the ones plotting to kill her, either. As far as he knew, she was supposed to be on their side.

With a furrowed brow and green eyes squinted from thought, Eren pushed away from the counter and shoved his thought processes to the side for now. He already vowed that he would report anything suspicious – it'd even been his damn reason for listening to the call – and plans to kill Petra were _definitely _suspicious enough to tell someone about.

"But who do I tell? I don't have anyone's number. Could call the police," Eren mused, his feet carrying him back through the kitchen and living room to the main foyer. Automatically, he made his way to the front door where he paused and thought over his options. _I can tell Rivaille. He shouldn't be too far yet._ Entertaining the idea of calling the man who nearly got him killed, the brunet sighed when he realized he didn't have Rivaille's number either. But he knew someone who did.

"Annie has it," Eren breathed, glancing down the hall towards the girl's bedroom. Her door was shut, the light was on, and he knew she was awake from the call. The only factor that posed an issue in Eren's mind was the fact he would be randomly asking for Rivaille's number so suddenly after that call ended. He spent a moment debating how he would be able to play it off as nothing and avoid any sort of suspicion, soon deciding on a plan that he could only hope would work.

With a sigh and the resolve to get his teacher – and Rivaille and Hanji – out of harm's way, Eren ignored every part of his better conscience that told him it was a bad idea to get involved anymore than he already was. He forced his legs into action after a minute of final debating, letting his feet carry him towards Annie's room.

Once he was standing in front of the door to the girl's room, he took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock on the hardwood before stepping back from the door slightly. "Annie? Are you awake?" he questioned, raising his voice slightly before he heard hastened shuffling from the other side of the door. A silence filtered through the air a second later, and Eren was about to knock again before the door was suddenly opened to reveal a disinterested Annie standing in its wake.

"What do you want?" Cold blue eyes gazed up at Eren as soon as the door was pulled open, and the brunet smiled slightly as he raised a hand to rub at the back of his neck thoughtfully. _I can feel her murderous intent…_

"I was wondering if you have Rivaille's number," Eren stated with a slight shrug, his hand falling back down to his side and slipping into the pocket of his jeans. Annie's eyes narrowed at the statement, and she was already stepping back to close her door in the brunet's face when he moved forward to catch it quickly, his expression slightly panicked. "No, I'm serious! Do you have it or not?"

"Of course I have it," Annie responded with a sigh, her fingers clutching the knob of her door while Eren held it open from the other side. Her gaze was dull and evaluating while she took in the brunet's facial expression, and she glanced up to meet his eyes for a moment. "I have no reason to give it to you."

"I didn't even ask yet," Eren muttered, his own sigh falling from his lips while he kept the door open as best as he could. He could feel the pressure against his hands increasing, and he knew Annie was contemplating just slamming the door whether his hands would get crushed in the process or not. "But just hear me out, okay? I want to thank him. For you know, bringing me here."

"You should've done that before he left—"

"I _forgot _to," the brunet interrupted, his tone pressing as he pushed against the door a little harder before it could be shut in his face. Annie's expression remained neutral while he spoke, but her eyes showed that she was contemplating every phrase that left Eren's mouth as soon as it did. "Look, I just want to say thank you before I can't contact him anymore."

"Then do it tomorrow," the blonde stated, her position on the subject unchanging even as Eren groaned and moved to prop his foot between the door and the wall. His expression was borderline desperate and irritated, and Annie raised a brow when it seemed tomorrow would be too late in the brunet's opinion.

"I'll forget again. I'm…extremely forgetful. Short-term memory loss," the taller teen provided, feigning a sheepish grin that went completely ignored by the blonde in front of him. "All you have to do is give me his number. The sooner you give it to me, the sooner I'll leave you alone."

"Or you could leave me alone anyways," Annie pointed out, her gaze traveling back towards her bed for a moment where she left the house phone Ymir called less than five minutes ago. Her attention returned to Eren after a moment, however, when the brunet pushed against the door and groaned audibly.

"Please, Annie." Contemplative eyes watched him thoughtfully for a moment while Annie held the door in place and regarded the pleading expression on Eren's face. _Why the hell does he want it so desperately? _"I'll just be back tomorrow to ask for it if you don't give it to me now. Do you really want to repeat this conversation?"

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Annie thought over the statement before sighing and stepping away from her door, the sudden lack of weight causing Eren to nearly fall face-first into her room. Green eyes went wide as the brunet caught his balance, and he stared up at the other teen's blank expression hopefully.

"Alright, fine. I'll give it to you. Give me your phone," she stated flatly, her palm outstretched towards Eren while he tugged the cell phone from his pocket and handed it over obediently. Annie's eyes met the screen of the device as it flickered to life, and her thumb paused over the locked screen, her attention unmoving as she opened her mouth to speak. "Password?"

"Oh, uh, Jaeger. That's J-A-E—"

"I know how to spell it," Annie interrupted, already entering the pass code and opening the contacts list. She scanned through the few numbers that were visible before opening a new contact and pausing when she moved to press the first number. _I could put Ymir's number instead. _Staring down at the keypad for a moment, the blonde contemplated her options, ignoring the way Eren cocked his head to the side in confusion and asked if she was alright.

With her eyes locked on the screen, Annie quickly entered a number off the top of her head before holding the phone out to Eren with a disinterested look in her eyes. "I forgot what it was for a second. I normally use the contact saved in my cell phone to call him. Happy now?"

Nodding quickly, Eren grinned and saved the new number under Rivaille's name before moving to step back towards the doorway. "Thanks, Annie." Grin still in place even as he moved back into the hallway, Eren kept up a grateful expression until he turned away from Annie's room and made his way down the hall, his eyes focused on the phone in his hand. _I can't call him with Mikasa and Armin around…_

A thoughtful hum resonated in the back of the brunet's throat as he walked down the hallway, glancing around to see that everyone's door was shut. If he snuck outside for a while, surely no one would notice his absence. Green eyes flickered to the door at the end of the hall where he stayed with Armin and Mikasa, and he slowed his pace, quieting his steps as he passed by the room and reached the front door.

"Where are you going?" Pausing when Annie's voice broke his thoughts, Eren turned to look back at the blonde with a slight smile. _When did she…?_

"Just getting a breath of fresh air," he responded lamely, his shoulders rising and falling in a neutral shrug. Blue eyes narrowed at his response, and Annie stared at the brunet while he smiled and slowly slid his phone back into his pocket.

"Haven't you had enough fresh air for tonight?" she questioned flatly, her tone filled to the brim with suspicion while she watched Eren closely. The taller teen simply gave a shrug of his shoulders and grinned wearily.

"Maybe. I won't be outside long. I'm going to sleep once I come back in," Eren pointed out, doing his best not to avoid Annie's gaze. Her eyes were staring straight into his own, and he swore the girl was reading his mind as a deafening silence filled the air between them. _Does she know I heard everything? _Already attempting to hide the panic that was seeping into his thoughts, Eren was about to say something before being cut off by Annie's voice.

"Alright," she finally responded, not sparing the brunet another glance before turning to walk through the living room to the kitchen. Eren released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and ran a hand through his hair before pulling the front door open and stepping out onto the porch. The door fell shut behind him as he pulled his phone from his pocket once again and searched for his newest contact, clicking the number and raising his phone to his ear once it started to ring.

Shifting to lean back against the front door, Eren lifted a hand to the bandage wrapped around his neck, his fingers grazing the gauze-like cloth while he waited on Rivaille to answer. The phone was approaching its fifth ring, and the brunet was about to hang up to try again before a frustrated but painfully familiar voice broke through the speaker.

"_Who the hell is this?"_

"It's Eren. I—"

"_How did you get my number?" _Rivaille interrupted, and the brunet paused for a second while his fingers that had been pressed to his neck fell to his side.

"I got it from Annie," he responded, his gaze traveling towards the darkened sky. "Listen, Rivaille, there's a problem. Petra's in—"

"_She's not in danger, Jaeger." _Brow furrowing slightly and green eyes narrowing, Eren almost wanted to ask how Rivaille knew exactly what he was about to say. He settled for frowning and waiting on the man to continue instead, figuring it would be best to let him speak first. _"I don't know what you heard from who, but Petra's fine. Hanji already told me about Annie's plans."_

"Wait, how did you…?" Confused far more than usual, Eren moved to step away from the door and held his phone to his ear a little firmer. "How did you know? How did Hanji know?" He heard a sigh from the other end of the line, and his gaze diverted to staring at the stairs while he waited on a response.

"_Hanji has Annie's phone. Remember when she left to check on things earlier? She ran into Annie along the way and thought ahead_," Rivaille explained, and Eren let his mind work over the new information. He knew that Rivaille and Hanji were both thieves in any sense of the word, but he hadn't expected either of them to already think this far ahead.

_Rivaille is a peculiar man. He knows a lot of things that most people don't. Hanji is the same way. _Thinking over Petra's words as they filtered back into his mind from earlier in the day, Eren rolled his eyes and bit back a snort. _Yeah, no shit._

"_Eren. What do you know?" _Blinking slightly when Rivaille's voice broke him out of his thoughts, the brunet bit his tongue before he blurted something out, thinking over his options carefully.

"There's another woman – uh…Yahmere or something—"

"Ymir," Rivaille corrected, his voice suddenly more strained than it had been a second ago. "What about her?"

"She's going to Rose District. I don't know where in—"

"_Shit…You're not lying to me are you, Jaeger?"_ Rivaille bit out, and Eren visibly flinched when he heard the clink of keys as the man shoved one into the ignition of his sports bike, the engine roaring to life and destroying the sound quality of the call.

"No, I'm not—"

"_How long ago did she leave?"_ Pausing for a second, Eren almost wanted to ask why Rivaille was suddenly more alert than he had been at first. _He didn't know about this? _Shaking his head to clear the thought, the brunet thought back on how long it had been since he listened in on Annie's conversation.

"Like twenty minutes ago maybe," he responded, tensing when he heard the revving of the motorbike engine on the other side of the line. "H-hey! You can't just keep up a call while you're on one of those!" Eren quickly blurted out, doing his best to make out Rivaille's voice from the loud background noise.

"_You're right. Call Hanji for me. Tell her exactly what you just told me and that we're changing the plans. Tell her to meet me in Stohess. Take the back route. And if she intercepts Ymir, keep go—"_

"Wait! You guys are taking Ms. Ral to Stohess? Isn't that the really bad area where we nearly got _killed? _What the hell are you thinking?" Eren interrupted, his voice panicked and his mind already forgetting half of the instructions Rivaille was giving him.

"_Shut up and listen to me, Jaeger. I'll give you Hanji's number, and you're going to tell her exactly what I'm telling you to tell her. We were going to go to Maria, but that requires going through Rose. Stop her before she gets there. That's an order."_ Tensing when Rivaille's last words met his ears, Eren paused when he went to say something, his left foot moving back towards the door.

"I—I can't put Ms. Ral in danger like that—"

"_Eren. Listen to me. There's a higher chance of her and Hanji dying if you don't do it. Just listen to me for once,"_ Rivaille bit out, his tone changing to something Eren wasn't used to at all. He'd never heard the man speak in other way than a reserved, calm voice, but he could almost feel the stressed panic that was overtaking the older man at this point.

"_Call Hanji. It's the same as this number; just change the last two digits to a one and five. Tell her we're going to Stohess via the back route. Don't let me down."_ Before he could argue the demand a final time, the line died, and Eren was left staring at the steps while the dial tone of his phone buzzed annoyingly in his ear. Green eyes wide and confused, the brunet slowly removed his phone from by his ear and stared down at the screen while his mind raced and fumbled with Rivaille's words. _That's an order._

Hesitating for a moment, Eren kicked himself mentally before forcing his fingers to work across the keypad, entering the number he now knew as Rivaille's and changing the last two digits. He glanced back at the door as he lifted the phone to his ear, being met with the upbeat voice of the brunette woman he met less than twelve hours ago. He was about to open his mouth to say something before realizing he was listening to her voicemail, his expression dimming slightly. _Shit._

"Hanji, whenever you get this, go back to Stohess. Rivaille says take the back routes," Eren quickly stated, ending the call once his message was recorded. He could only hope that Hanji would stop and check her phone before it was too late, and the brunet stepped forward until he could bend down to sit on the top ledge of the porch stairs.

His eyes focused on the little lawn lights that decorated the driveway of the house, and he took a deep breath of the chilled night air, his right hand moving to run through his hair in frustration. "I should've let them handle things on their own. I need to stop getting involved," Eren groaned, his attention returning to the bandage on his neck.

His fingers toyed with the cloth while he leaned against the railing on his right, his mind reeling over the ridiculous events he'd been involved in so far. Maybe it was all just a bad dream that he still needed to wake up from. Maybe none of it was real and when morning came, everything would be back to normal.

"Talk about wishful thinking, Eren," he muttered under his breath, sighing as he finally let his eyes slip shut.

* * *

If there was one thing Rivaille didn't like about the drive to Rose District, it was passing through Hermiha. The damned place was a shopping district among shopping districts, and the traffic was terrible whether it was broad daylight or three in the morning. Even with the shortcuts he knew by heart, traversing the busy streets without running into multiple problems was damn near impossible.

Currently stopped at a red light he couldn't avoid, the man sighed while he kept his balance, supporting the motorbike he was seated on and digging in his pocket for a spare cigarette and his lighter. The cancerous stick was placed between his lips, and he lit the cigarette while he waited, soon shoving his lighter back in his pocket.

Grey eyes scanned the area nearby in search of any form of law force that could catch him for his lack of a helmet. The second he got pulled over, the second they found out his sports bike was stolen, too. Frowning at the thought, Rivaille breathed in deeply before releasing the smoke between his lips and running a hand through his hair.

"Tch. More reason to hate this place and its fucking crowds," he muttered under his breath, shifting his weight once the light turned green and traffic finally began to move again. His eyes scanned the cars nearby, his cigarette disappearing faster as the wind caught the ash burning at the tip, and he glanced up at the large wall separating Sina and Rose District.

_She's probably already waiting in Rose, _Rivaille thought absently, taking a final drag on his cigarette before letting it fall to the concrete where it was promptly smashed beneath car tires. Grey irises focused on the welcoming sign above the breach in the wall, and he hummed thoughtfully before glancing over his shoulder. He could only hope that Eren had warned Hanji and told her to go back before it was too late, but even then, he knew that the differences in location were too great.

"At least let her be close to Maria if nothing else," he grunted under his breath, coming to another stop as the traffic slowed near the entrance to Rose where the lanes merged into two instead of four. His eyes wandered over the cars passing through the entrance from the other direction, and his shoulders tensed when he caught sight of a familiar Corvette. His gaze shot to the distinctive ornament resting on the hood before traveling to the tinted windows, and his suspicions were confirmed when he could make out the faint appearance of the driver.

Cursing under his breath, Rivaille shifted his weight and revved the engine, jerking the back end of the motorbike around so he was head-on with the person behind him. Ignoring the terrified look of the driver and their futile attempt to move to the side, Rivaille pushed down on the gas pedal firmly, silently thankful that there was enough space between the cars of each lane to drive between them.

Car horns blared, and people shouted as he shot down the make-shift lane, already knowing he caught the attention of who he wanted. A mildly amused smirk crossed his features when he thought of the frustration Ymir had to be facing as he broke out from the cluster of cars and turned onto one of the back roads, the engine of his bike roaring even as he came to a stop at the end of the street.

He shook his bangs from his face while he adjusted his balance and waited, already able to hear the continuous horns blasting through the air. He shifted to dig his phone out of his pocket while he waited, flipping the screen open and dialing Hanji's number before bringing the phone to his ear.

"_Yo! I got Eren's message, but we were already in Maria by time I got it,"_ the woman's voice broke through the line almost immediately, and Rivaille let out a small sigh of relief.

"Good. I found Ymir. She was in Rose, but I crossed paths with her just now. She's coming back to Stohess, and I'm waiting for her on the back road off of Pixis Avenue," Rivaille explained, wincing slightly when his injured arm began to throb. _From when I jerked the damn thing, probably, _he thought absently, his mind focusing on Hanji once again.

"_Wait, you're going to face off with her?"_ Rolling his eyes slightly, Rivaille ran a hand through his hair again when he heard Petra's voice in the background asking what was going on and shifted his weight to his right foot easily.

"I'm getting her off your trail. Stay with Petra like we originally planned, and I'll handle everything else. Tell Eren that you're both safe. It's all he cared about," Rivaille responded, grey eyes glancing up as the cars on Pixis Avenue began moving. _She'll catch up soon._

"_And what about you?"_ Hanji questioned, her tone turning serious, and Rivaille could make out the faint sound of her keys spinning around her index finger and clanking together.

"I'll be fine," he reassured, shifting his weight again and looking down at his injured arm. The pain was growing by the minute, the repercussions of his actions finally setting in, but he did his best to ignore it as the line went quiet.

"_Don't die,"_ Hanji muttered, obviously attempting to keep her voice from being heard by Petra. In all honesty, Rivaille almost wanted to laugh at the phrase, but he only nodded curtly to himself and provided a short, "I don't plan to," before snapping the phone shut and shoving it back into his pocket right as the front edge of the familiar Corvette turned onto the street he was waiting on.

Grey eyes narrowed when the car made no move to stop as it headed straight for him, and he cursed before jerking around again and slamming the heel of his foot down on the gas, bolting forward while the Corvette gained speed. He shot a look over his shoulder towards the advancing car, briefly wondering why negotiations weren't coming first for once. _Tch. The brat probably knows that I've already figured her out completely._

His eyes rolled reflexively at the naivety of his pursuer, and his focus switched to his driving when he cut a corner sharper than he had planned to, cursing under his breath again when he realized how close he had been to losing control of the vehicle. His balance was regained quickly, however, and he glanced at the rearview mirror that revealed the Corvette jerking around the same corner without losing much speed.

Pressing down on the gas a little firmer, Rivaille bent over the body of his bike more, shifting his position just enough to make balancing easier. His eyes shot back to the one of the mirrors within a second when he caught a glimpse of the passenger window rolling down, grey irises going wide when they focused on the gun being aimed towards him.

"Is all this fucking necessary?" he grunted under his breath, turning another sharp corner that led deeper into Sina towards Stohess. He heard at least two gunshots over the roar of the engines, and his eyes flicked between the road and the mirror instantly. _Aiming for the ground? No, the tires. Shit._

Mentally telling himself to just focus on where he was going, Rivaille's gaze moved back to the street as his speed increased, wishing that the back roads weren't as clear as they were. If at least one car showed up, he could throw off the chase by at least a couple seconds.

Thinking over the map of the area he was in quickly, Rivaille planned ahead once he turned onto another side street, already contemplating each of his next moves. He made sure to keep his bike swerving to avoid the shots being fired, and his body remained close to the vehicle while he tried to maintain his speed. Just as he turned the next sharp corner, however, Rivaille moved to brake instantly, his vehicle swerving sideways as the tires locked and burned rubber.

The body of the bike smashed into the unexpected blockade that had been set up, dragging Rivaille with it and slinging the man to the ground harshly. His ankle twisted painfully when he moved to catch himself, his hands and right arm dragging across the concrete. He bit back a pained cry once his mind caught up with the action, and his forehead dropped to press against cold asphalt when the Corvette that had been pursuing him slid to a stop along the street he turned off of.

Grey eyes filtered in and out of focus as he forced his head up again, catching sight of the bright headlights reflecting off of the nearby buildings, and Rivaille detested the smug looks on his pursuers' faces even as a single thought passed through the back of his mind. _At least I'm stalling them._

* * *

_Slow the scene and pan out to show the damage left on the street. Cut to a close up of the wrecked vehicle, its engine dead and left headlight smashed. Cut to the man on the ground with a bloodied arm and unfocused eyes as he stares up at the camera spitefully. Let the scene fade to black. Come back into focus with a blinking animation, turning the camera up to the three grinning faces looking down on the injured man. Let the image distort and filter it with a grainy overlay as it slowly fades to black once more._

_Cross fade to the two women leaning against their undamaged motorbike in a dimly lit garage. Pan right and focus on the battered cell phone resting against the seat of the bike between them. Slowly fade the picture to black before letting it fade back in, showing the worry held deep in amber eyes. Slowly move the camera towards the second woman as the scene softly fades and refocuses on distressed, angry brown eyes. Her lips are moving, but the sound is cut off, and the camera pulls back to show that she's caught the attention of the woman behind her. The scene remains static until the amber-eyed woman nods and looks down again. Fade to black._

_Bloom transition to the boy resting on the porch steps of a house that isn't his. Slowly pan in to reveal that his eyes are closed, and he's asleep against the railing on his right. The camera shows that his cheeks are red from the cold night air, and the focus is on his lips as they twitch with unspoken words. Leave the scene as it is and apply a softly glowing overlay before fading to back. Cross fade to the same image shown from the right and zoom in on the girl standing at the window by the door with a cell phone in hand. Cut to a close-up of the phone's screen and focus in on the words._

_Call to Ymir  
Ended_

_Fade to black._


End file.
